


Rise From The Ashes

by DaisiesGuardYou



Series: Phoenix Series [1]
Category: Hunger Games Trilogy - Suzanne Collins
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-25
Updated: 2020-07-25
Packaged: 2021-03-06 05:34:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 21
Words: 26,762
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25508317
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DaisiesGuardYou/pseuds/DaisiesGuardYou
Summary: Ash Rooker lost her parents young, now she might lose her life. In order to save her friend she must save her sister. She volunteered for Primrose Everdeen. Now she must face her dwindling odds as a small girl from the smallest district. But like Katniss, survival is second nature to her.
Series: Phoenix Series [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1847926
Kudos: 4





	1. Chapter 1

I stare at the other bed, it used to be my parents. Now it's no ones. My parents died in a mine a few years ago. Five to be specific. Now it's just me. My younger sister got reaped her first year and I hadn't been fast enough to volunteer. I was only fourteen at the time. She didn't make it past the bloodbath. My other sister is sleeping next to me. She's only seven and practically useless half the time but she makes good company. Now I'm 16 and the reaping for the 74th hunger games is today. I need to get up, I need food for the day, and I need to meet Katniss and Gale. I stand and stretch, picking up my jacket and slipping it on. I slide my feet into my boots and shake Drift awake. 

"Hey we need to get you to the Everdeens." I say softly. 

"No it's too early." Drift whines. She's always been a brat about mornings. 

"We need food and I can't leave you here." I say. I pick up her clothes and get her up getting her dressed. 

"Wait Ashy it's the reaping." Drift frowns. She hasn't liked the reaping for the past few years. Not since Terra died. 

"Yeah but I promise I'll be okay." I say. Drift grabs my hand and we start for the Everdeens. I meet Katniss at her door and she lets Drift in, who promptly goes to the bed and crawls in falling asleep. 

We start for the woods. We slide into the woods and pause listening for footsteps. I hurry to a fallen log where my dads old bow was kept. He hunted with Mr Everdeen and my dad taught me as much as he could before he died. The bow had been a gift from Mr Everdeen. Katniss left me for her own bow. 

"Hey Phoenix!" Katniss calls hurrying over to join me. 

"Hey catnip." I tease sliding my quiver onto my back. "Happy reaping day." 

"Yeah happy reaping day." She answered nervously. 

"How's Prim?" I ask. 

"Scared. Everyone will be." Katniss answers. I nod. 

"Everyone's scared." I echo. I sigh. "Let's get moving." 

"alright." Katniss nods and starts towards where we meet Gale. 

"Hey Phoenix, catnip." Gale calls. We hurry over and smile at him. 

"Hey." We reply in sync, turning to each other and laughing. Gale grins and holds up a loaf of bread. 

"Look what I caught." Gale says. Katniss straightens and grabs the bread. It's not flat and dense like the bread we make, it's bakery bread. 

"Here from prim." Katniss pulls a a piece of goat cheese carefully wrapped in basil from her pocket. 

"Happy Hunger Games." Gale says. I pull a bunch blackberries off a branch. 

"And May the odds.." I start. 

"Be ever in your favour!" Katniss finishes. I grin and watch Gale cut the bread. I strip the bush of berries and collect them into my hunting bag. I take a seat on the ground as Gale passes around the bread and cheese. Gale and Katniss could be siblings, with their olive skin, straight black hair, and grey eyes, the usual seam look. I have the olive skin tone but my skin is darker then theirs, plus my hair is naturally a mess of curls so I kept it braided as a child and since my parents died it has turned into dreads, and My eyes are brown. My mom had the normal seam look but my dad was taller and darker skinned. He had dark brown chocolate skin and a mess of black curls. 

"So what should we get today?" Katniss asks briskly. 

"Shall we fish?" I offer. It's been a while and it is a nice dish. Katniss nods. 

"Yeah. Gale and I can split them up." She agrees. I always eat with the Everdeens on reaping day. I nod. 

Gale sighs. "We could do it." 

"Do what?" Katniss asks. 

"Leave, we could do it." Gale says. 

"If we didn't have so many kids." Katniss answers. I stay quiet. I only have Drift. I could do it. I could leave now and never look back. Except for Katniss and Prim. I can't leave them. 

"Yeah." Gale goes silent. 

"I never want kids." Katniss says. I nod, I don't either. 

"I might if I didn't live here." Gale says. 

"But you do live here." Katniss snaps. 

"Just forget it." Gale snaps back. I sigh. 

"Let's get going." I say standing up. I don't want fighting today. 

By late morning we have a dozen fish, a bag of greens, and a gallon of strawberries. We go to the Hob first, we trade six of the fish for good bread, two others for salt, and half the greens for a few chunks of paraffin. We always try and stay on good terms with Greasy Sae, She'll buy our wild dogs if we have to shoot them. We leave the Hob and head for the mayors house. He loves strawberries and he can afford what we charge. Madge opens the door. She's always been stunning. 

"You look beautiful." I say softly. Gale and Katniss exchange smirks. They always do this when I'm around Madge. I didn't think I was that obvious. Madge blushes. I blush. 

"Thanks, I'm sure you will too." She says softly. Gale and Katniss smile. 

"Nice dress." Gale says. Madge shoots him a look. She can't tell if he's being genuine. 

"Well, if I end up going to the Capitol, I want to look nice, don't I?" Madge answers. Gale looks confused. 

"You won't be going to the Capitol." Gale answers. His eyes land on her Phoenix pin. "What can you have? Five entries? I had six when I was twelve." 

"That's not her fault." Katniss answers. 

"No, it's no ones fault. Just the way it is." Gale answers. 

Madges face closes off. She gives Katniss the money. "Well good luck Katniss and Ash." 

"Thanks Madge, you too." I answer. Out of everyone in the district only Madge calls me by my real name. It started with my dad, then it slowly spread to my family, the Everdeens, and the rest of the district. Drift couldn't pronounce it so she settled on Ashy and it had stuck with her. 

We walk towards the seam in silence. The reaping system is unfair but I resent Gales dig at Madge. She can't help the tesserae. Katniss and Gale divide the remaining spoils of our hunt. 

"See you in the square." Katniss says. 

"Wear something pretty." Gale says flatly. We split up got our homes and I find myself in an empty house. The only reason I didn't get sent to the home was that I kept us well fed and clothed. Plus I made up an aunt in Mrs Everdeen. I heat my water and bathe quickly. I slip into my mothers old reaping dress and slick my dreads back into a bun. If I do get picked my hair will probably get brushed out. Right now it's a tangle of matted braids since I can't rebraid my own hair and I couldn't find anyone to help me with my hair who knew how. Mrs Everdeen always kept Drift on reaping days. I rebraided Drifts hair last night so it looks nice for today. 

I stretch and start for the reaping. Three more reapings and I'm free to work in the mines. I'm tiny so the mines aren't the best option but it is my only option. I join the line of people waiting to be checked in and pretty soon they prick my finger and press it against the paper. They let me join the sixteen year olds. I nod at the other girls from the seam and Madge finds me grabbing my hand. Katniss also joins us. 

"I promise nothing will happen with Prim." I whisper softly. She nods and Madges father starts talking. He tells us about the dark days and the war and how the Capitol graciously let the districts stay and work for them. But to make sure we never do it again they started the games. One girl and one boy from each district. Prim has one , Katniss has twenty, Gale has the most of any of us with forty two , I only have fifteen entries. It could be worse and it probably won't be me. 

"Happy Hunger Games! And may the odds be ever in your favour." Effie Trinket, our escort, bubbles. It's what she normally says. We only have one remaining victor out of our two. Haymitch Abernathy. He stumbles on stage and grabs Effie. Her wig is now askew and I can't held the ghost of a smile that crosses my face. "Ladies first!" She says smiling. I pray it isn't Katniss or Prim. "Primrose Everdeen."


	2. Chapter 2

The air is sucked out of me for a second and I glance over to Katniss. She can't go in. It's a death sentence and her family needs her. Before I can help it the words burst out of my mouth. "I volunteer as tribute!" I yell. 

"Lovely! I believe there's a small matter of introducing the reaping winner and then asking for volunteers, if one does come forth..." Effie trails off. The mayor is looking at me in pain. Madge must've mentioned me, or maybe he knew me from the strawberries, or from him giving me that medal for my parents. The small scared eleven year old trying to protect her sisters. Only one is dead now from the Games. 

"What does it matter?" The mayor asks. "Let her come forward." 

"No! Phoenix no!" Prim screams grabbing my waist. "You can't go! Please!" 

"Prim go find Katniss." I say harshly. She gets pulled off of me. 

"Up you go Phoenix." Katniss says. I take a deep breath and climb the stairs. 

"Well bravo! That's the spirit of the Games!" Effie smiles. She must be pleased to finally have a district with some action. "And what's your name?" 

"Ash Rooker." I answer. The district mumbles amongst themselves. They remember my family. My dad has been well loved, so had my sister. So was my other sister. I was well loved by association. Effies face has a flicker of recognition at the last name. 

"Oh! Terra." She says softly. Terra is my younger sister who lost the games. Someone from two won that year. Coincidentally another Terra. Terra Hadley. Daughter of two victors, sister to another, and granddaughter of four victors. The capitols greatest prize. She collects herself, everyone who met my sister loved her. "Now lets get a big round of applause for our newest tribute." Effie says. No one claps, instead they press the three middle fingers of their left hand to their mouths and raises it up. It's goodbye to someone they love. I'm someone precious now, they must know I'm not returning. "Now for the boys." Effie hurries to the bowl and pulls out a name. She marches to the microphone and reads the name aloud. "Gale Hawthorne." 

The crowd murmurs again. Gale. I'm going to have to kill Gale. At least I'll have an ally for a little while. It will make it easier since we know each other well enough. But I can't kill Gale. Hopefully someone else will before I can. Or someone will kill me. Gales family needs him. Of course if I do end up winning, I would take care of them. I would have more money then I would ever need. The mayor reads the Treaty of Treason. I hope the mayor takes care of Madge. I'm sure it won't be too bad for her but she did know me and that always makes it worse. 

"Shake hands you two!" Effie bubbles. We shake hands and we're led back into the Justice Building. Now our friends and family get to say goodbye. Peetas family will draw their shutters tonight, the Everdeens might for me but I hope they'll celebrate having Katniss and Prim survive another year. I'm led to a room that's bigger than my house. The couch is made of velvet and I absently run my hands over it. They can't see me cry, they can't see me as weak. The door opens and in runs the Everdeens and Drift. 

"Ash you shouldn't have." Katniss says. She's crying. 

"Prim and your mom need you Katniss." I remind her. Prim wraps her arms around me tightly. 

"Please come back." She whispers. "You could do it. You're strong." 

"Yeah, you could win." Katniss says weakly. She knows I probably won't, the people from the richer districts normally win. I nod. 

"Yeah and then we'll all be rich." I say. 

"I don't care I just want you back." Prim answers. Over time it's become like I'm her older sister, she's like my sister. I would never let her into the games. 

"Yeah. Listen I love you guys." I say softly. "I'll try my hardest to come back. I promise." 

Mrs Everdeen bursts into tears. "You've always been like my daughter." She hugs me tightly. Katniss nods. 

"Don't check out on them. They'll need you." I say pulling back. 

"Ashy you promised you'd be okay." Drift says crying. 

"I'm going to be okay. I'm smart and I can hunt. I'm not leaving you here." I promise hugging her. 

"We'll take care of her." Katniss promises. 

"Keep her away from the Games." I say. The peacekeepers open the door. 

"Times up." The peacekeeper says. The Everdeens hug me again and then leave. I stare out the window as the door opens again. I glance up to see Mr Mellark. He passes me a white bag. I open it and see cookies. 

"Thank you Uncle." I say softly. He nods. We fall into silence. After a few minutes, the door opens again. Mr Mellark stands and walks to the door before pausing. 

"I'll take care of them. Make sure they're eating." Mr Mellark says. 

"Thank you." I say softly. He leaves and I wait for them to take me. Peeta enters and opens his arms. I walk into them and he wraps his arms around me.

"Get to a bow." Peeta says. "You can win with a bow." 

"They don't always have a bow!" I exclaim. 

"Then make one. A weak bow is better than no bow." Peeta answers. "They'll have wood in there." 

"Alright." I mumble. 

"Just come back to us." Peeta says before he's pulled out of the room. Madge enters. 

"Ash." Madge hugs me tightly. "Here, you get a token. I want you to wear my pin." 

"Thank you." I say softly. She pins it to my dress. 

"Please win, I can't lose you." She mumbles. I nod. 

"I'll try." I promise. 

"I always liked you." Madge smiles softly and leaves. I'm led to the train and made to stand while the photographers catch our likeness. We're led in and the doors close behind us. I'm led to my room and I'm left alone.


	3. Chapter 3

I glance at the closet. It's filled with clothes, Effie said I could wear whatever I want. I strip out of the green dress I had on and walk into the shower, I've never had a shower before. It's like a warm summer rain. It's nice, it makes me miss the woods. I slip into a pair of pants and a forest green shirt, I remember the pin and pin it to my shirt. It's a little piece of home, it's fitting. A Phoenix. My dad always said I'd be reborn from the ashes. I have dinner in a few minutes. I rise and walk to the dining room. I slip into my chair and cross my hands in my lap. Gale sits across from me, he glances at me expectingly. I chose to ignore it. This is no place for loyalty. 

"Where's Haymitch?" Effie asks. I shrug, I've decided to avoid him until I have to talk to him. 

"Last time I saw him, he said he was going to take a nap," Gale answers. 

"Well it's been an exhausting day." Effie answers. She seems relieved, I'm relieved. After all Haymitch seems is unpleasant. He liked my father so he gave me some money when he died, everyone liked my father. Everyone liked my sister. After all Drift is adorable. She's able to charm her way through everything. She gets to be a kid and maybe someday I'll teach her how to hunt but for now she just helps Mrs Everdeen with the herbs. 

The supper comes in courses. Thick carrot soup, green salad, lamb chops and mashed potatoes, cheese and fruit, a chocolate cake. Effie keeps reminding us to save room because there's always more to come. I've never seen this much food. I'm stuffing myself because the food is better than anything I've ever had. Plus if I have extra weight I'll probably last longer. 

"At least, you two have decent manners." Effie sniffs as we're finishing the main course. "The pair last year ate everything with their hands like a couple of savages. It completely upset my digestion."

The pair last year were two kids from the seam, who'd never had enough to eat, not once in their entire lives. After being that hungry for so long and seeing this much food, manners wouldn't have mattered to them, it would've been the furthest thing on their minds. Gale grew up with parents who taught him about manners. Plus he's never had too much food to worry about. My parents taught us manners. Although Drift, only had a year to learn before they were taken from us. So yes we can handle utensils but I hate the what Effie said. I set down my utensils and make a point to eat with my fingers, at the end I wipe my fingers on the tablecloth. This makes her purse her lips.

Now that we're done eating, I'm fighting to keep the food down. I can tell Gale is a little green too. Neither of us are used to such rich fare. But I've held down the worst of What twelve can offer, and I can hold down this. 

We go to another compartment to watch the recap of the reapings. They try and stagger them so you could watch them all in a row but all the districts have their own reapings so only the Capitol can do that. 

One by one the reapings happen, the names are called and volunteers step forward. The boy from one is large and well muscled, the girl from two is slight but beautiful, a fox faced girl from five, a cripple boy from ten, a large muscled boy from eleven, and worst, a small slight twelve year old. She reminds me of prim, of Terra, and of Drift. Finally it's twelves turn. Prim getting reaped, me volunteering, Katniss tried to volunteer, something I had missed, Prim getting pulled off me, me taking my spot, Effies face, and finally Gale getting reaped. The commentators are unsure what to do about the crowds refusal to clap when I volunteer. They are happy to have Haymitch to laugh at afterwards. 

Effie is disgusted at the state of her wig. "Your mentor has a lot to learn about presentation. A lot about televised behaviour." 

Gale laughs. "He was drunk. He's drunk every year." 

"Everyday." I add. I can't help the smirk the crosses my face.

"Yes," hissed Effie. "How did you two find it amusing. You know your mentor is your lifeline to the world in these Games. The one who advises you, lines up your sponsors, and dictates the presentation of any gifts. Haymitch can well be the difference between your life and your death." 

Just then, Haymitch stumbles into the compartment. He's definitely drunk. "I miss super?" He slurred. Then he vomits all over the expensive carpet and falls into the mess. 

"So laugh away!" Effie says. She hops in her pointy shoes around the vomit and flees the room. 

For a moment Gale and I stare at the mess. We take in Haymitch trying to rise up from the vomit. We glance at each other. Obviously Haymitch isn't much but Effie is right, he is our lifeline. Gale and I step forward together and help Haymitch up. 

"I tripped?" Haymitch asks. "Smells bad." He wipes the vomit on his face, smearing it. 

"Let's get you back to your room." Gale says. "Clean you up a bit." 

We half drag Haymitch back to his compartment. Since we can't leave him on the bed, we take him to the bathtub and turn the shower on. 

"It's okay, I'll take it from here." Gale says to me. I can't help but be grateful, the last thing I was to do is strip Haymitch down. Gale might be trying to make a good impression but Haymitch probably won't remember this. 

"All right. I can send of the Capitol people to help you." I say. There's a lot of them around the train. Waiting on us, guarding us, taking care of us is their job. 

"No. I don't want them." Gale says. I nod and head to my room. I understand why. I can't stand the Capitol people myself. But them having to deal with Haymitch might be revenge. Gale must be doing this to be kind. 

That pulls me up short. A kind Gale is a deadly Gale. It would make him harder to kill then he already is. Now I'm left hoping either I go first or someone else kills him. It's got to be time to set him free. No more Gale Hawthorne. 

When I get back to my compartment the train is stopping to refuel. I grab the cookies and toss them out the window slamming it shut and turning away. Unlike Katniss I had gone to the woods immediately. It provided safety, and food. I couldn't do much with my sisters since they were nine and two at the time. Plus I didn't get money to support them. None of us could get a job and we were supposedly living with the Everdeens. So I went where I felt safe. Where I felt free. I eventually led Katniss out with me when she decided to return to the woods. There we met Gale. From there it's history.


	4. Chapter 4

I wake the next morning slightly disoriented. I blink and sit up. My clothes from last night are still clean but crumpled on the floor. I pull them on and walk to the dining room. I find Haymitch and Gale eating breakfast. Effie is drinking black coffee and mutter under be breath. 

"Sit down! Sit down!" Haymitch says waving me over. As soon as I've sat down a giant platter of food is placed in front of me. Eggs, ham, piles of fried potatoes, tureen of fruit in ice to keep it cold, a glass of what I think is orange juice, a cup of coffee, enough rolls to keep me and the Everdeens fed for a week, a brown cup of something I've never seen. 

"They call it hot chocolate. It's good." Gale says. I take a sip and a shudder runs through me. I ignore my food as I drink the cup of hot chocolate. Once I've finished it I stuff all I can hold, being careful with the rich stuff. Once my stomach feels like splitting I lean back to watch my breakfast companions. Gale is breaking apart a roll and dipping it in his hot chocolate. Haymitch hasn't touched his food and is instead drinking a red juice that he keeps adding a clear liquid to. Judging from the fumes it's a spirit. I barely know Haymitch but I've seen him buying from the woman who sells white liquor enough. He'll be incoherent by the time we reach the Capitol. 

It makes me detest Haymitch. No wonder district twelve never stands a chance. It's not just because we lack food and training. Some of our tributes could've won. But we rarely get sponsors and he's a big reason why. The rich people who back the tributes want someone classier to deal with. 

"So, you're supposed to give us advice." I remind Haymitch. 

"Here's some advice. Stay alive." Haymitch says before bursting out laughing. I exchange glances with Gale. His eyes are hard, which isn't surprising, Gale always had a temper. 

"That's funny." Gale says before he knocks Haymitch's glass. It shatters on the floor and sends the bloodred liquid running toward the back of the train. "Only not to us." 

Haymitch considers this for a moment and then punches Gale in the jaw, knocking him to the ground. When he reaches back for the spirit I drive my knife into the table inches from his hand. I tense waiting for his hit but it doesn't come. Instead he sits back and takes us in, squinting. 

"Well, what's this?" Says Haymitch. "Did I actually get a pair of fighters this year?" 

Gale gets up and scoops up a handful of ice from where the fruit tureen sits. He starts to bring it the red mark blooming on his jaw. 

"No, let the bruise show. The audience will think you've mixed up with another tribute before you've even made it to the arena." Haymitch says stopping him. 

"That's against the rules." Gale says. 

"Only if they catch you. That bruise will say you fought, but you weren't caught, even better." Haymitch says. He turns to look at me. "Can you hit anything with that knife besides the table?" 

Like Katniss, my weapon is a bow and arrow. But I'm the best in that group with a knife. I rarely miss. If I want Haymitch's attention, I need to make this moment count. I grab the knife, get a good grip on the blade, and then throw it. I was just aiming to get a good stick but it lodges between two panels, making me look better then I am.

"Stand over there. Both of you." Haymitch orders nodding to the middle of the room. We obey and he circles us, prodding at us like animals, checking our muscles, and examining our faces. "Well you're not entirely hopeless. Seem fit. And once the stylists get ahold of you, you'll be attractive enough." 

The hunger games aren't a beauty contest but the best looking tributes always seem to get more sponsors. 

"All right, I'll make a deal with you. Don't interfere with my drinking, and I'll stay sober enough to help you. But you have to do exactly what I say." Haymitch says. It's not much but it's still bounds more than what we had a few minutes again when we had no guide. 

"Fine." Gale says. 

"So help us. When we get to the arena, what's the best strategy at the Cornucopia for someone-" I start. 

"One thing at a time. In a few minutes we'll be pulling into the station. You'll be able it in the hands of your stylists. You're not going to like what they do to you. No matter what it is, don't resist." Haymitch says. 

"But—" I begin. 

"No buts. Don't resist." Says Haymitch. He picks up the bottom of spirits and leaves the car. It soon becomes dark like it's night. There are still lights in the train but outside it's like night time. We must be going through the mountains. The mountains are a large reason the districts lost the war. With no other way to get to the Capitol they had to scale the mountains leaving them open for air attack. 

We stand in silence as the train rushes through the tunnels. My breath catches in my throat as I think about the rock above me. I hate being trapped below rock. It reminds me of the mines and my parents death. 

The train finally slows and suddenly light floods the train. We run to the window to see the Capitol, something we've only seen on the television. The cameras don't do it justice. In fact it might mute the colours. The pink and the yellow are blinding to look at. The people soon start pointing and talking excitedly as they realize what we are, that this is a tribute train. I hold my ground with Gale as we wave. We stop when we pull into the station. Who knows, one of them may be rich. But as I stand there I realize, Gale is still fighting to survive. Which means he's fighting to kill me.


	5. Chapter 5

I bite my tongue as they rip up my leg hair. They've already waxed most of my body and spent several hours on my hair. It was now fully brushed out and loose in its childhood curls.

"Sorry you're just so hairy!" One of prep team Venia pipes. Her accent is odd. They always talk so high pitched, their jaws hardly open, and their sentences go up as if they're asking a question. With their odd vowels, clipped words, and the hiss on the letter s, no wonder it's impossible for us to mimic them. 

Venia makes what I think is a sympathetic face. "Good news though, this is the last one. Ready?" I grip the table and get ready. The final strip of my hair. I've been here for almost four hours. I've been scrubbed, and waxed. Plus they spent two hours on my hair, first getting the ends brushed out and then getting the braids undone. They managed to wash, condition, and dry my hair. It hasn't been like this in six years. Since I didn't visit the woods, when I started my hair had collected all the sticks and leaves so my mom has slicked it back into braids. I had occasionally redone my braids as my hair grew but they had become matted and I had left them alone. 

"You're doing very well." Says someone named Flavius. He's the only man in here. He's got orange corkscrew curls and he's applying a fresh coat of purple lipstick. "If there's one thing we can't stand, it's a whiner. Grease her down!" 

Venia and Octavia, who's plump body is dyed a pale pea green shade, rub me down with lotion that stings and then soothes my skin that was scrubbed and waxed raw. They pull my from the table and make me remove the robe I've been allowed to wear at times. They circle me, holding tweezers to remove any hair they missed. 

They step back and admire their work. "Excellent! You almost look like a human being now!" Flavius says, and they all laugh. 

I force a smile to show my gratitude. "Thank you. We don't have much to look nice for in District Twelve." I say sweetly. This wins them over. 

"Of course you poor darling!" Octavia says clasping her hands together, obviously distressed for me. 

"Don't worry. By the time Cinna is through with you, you're going to be absolutely gorgeous!" Says Venia. 

"We promise! You know, not we've gotten rid of all the hair and filth, you're not horrible at all!" Encourages Flavius. "Let's call Cinna!" 

They leave the room quickly. It's hard to hate them, they're complete idiots, and I know in their own way they're trying to help me. Cinna. My dad told me about a relative of his in the Capitol named Cinna. I don't know how he knew, it's not like we have a phone. I should put on my robe but he'll make take it off anyway. 

The door opens and in walks Cinna. It takes my breath away because, for a second, I think it's my dad. Cinna smiles softly at me. 

"You can put your robe back on." He says. I slip it on and tie it tightly. "We should talk. There's a lot to cover." 

"Alright." I agree. He leads me to a different room and presses a button on the table. The tabletop splits open and a feast appears. I ignore it and instead focus on Cinna. "Why do you look like dad?" 

"He was my brother." Cinna answers simply. I start to open my mouth and Cinna holds up his hand. "63 years ago someone named Lucy Gray Baird won the tenth hunger games. President Snow was her mentor. They fell in love and President Snow ended up in twelve as a peacekeeper for a summer. While there Lucy Gray fell pregnant with twins. Once Snow found out, he struck up a deal with her. Until he died, the oldest child of the offspring still in twelve would be taken to live in the Capitol. Safe from the games, being well taken care of. In exchange she promised to keep the children's father quiet. I was the oldest of the younger daughter. You've got an older brother here. He's one of the trainers." 

"You were the one who sent us money." I say softly. Cinna nods. 

"I only heard he died I didn't hear how." He says. 

"Mine. Got both of them." I answer. I press my lips together. "Said a friends mom was my aunt. They believed me and let me stay with them. But I didn't. I kept me and my two sisters alive for a while but Terra got reaped and I didn't have enough time to volunteer. It paralyzed me. My other sister is still in Twelve. She's staying with the girl I volunteered does family. They treat her like their own. They're family." 

Cinna squeezed my arm. "They would be proud of you." 

"Thank you." I say. I can't help the tears that trickle down my cheeks. "So is this your first year?" 

"Yeah." Cinna answered smiling. 

"So they stuck you with District Twelve?" I ask. 

"No I asked for it. I had an idea and it's my families home." Cinna answers. "There's also quite a few Bairds here. Maybe you could meet them." 

"We should eat." I answer. Cinna nods and I finally look at the food. Chicken and chunks of orange in a creamy sauce laid on a bed of white grain, tiny peas and onions, rolls shaped like flowers, and for desert a honey coloured pudding. I couldn't make this at home. Even if I tried it would be a poor substitute. Even the substitute would take days. I look up and find Cinna watching me. 

"How despicable we must seem to you." He says. He's right. I find them despicable. While the districts struggle for survival they live to do nothing. "No matter. So, Ash, about your costume for the opening ceremonies. My partner, Portia, is the stylist for your fellow tribute, Gale. And our current thought is to dress you in complementary costumes." Says Cinna. "As you know it's customary to reflect the flavour of the district." 

We're supposed to reflect the main industry of our districts. Since we mine coal and the jumpsuits our miners wear are very unbecoming, our tributes are normally dressed up in a skimpy versions. Of course one year they were naked and covered in coal dust. 

"So I'll be in a coal miner outfit?" I ask, hoping for some coverage. 

"Not exactly. You see, Portia and I think that coal miner things very overdone. No one will remember you in that. And we both see it as our job to make the District Twelve tributes unforgettable." Cinna says. So naked. "So rather than focus on the coal mining itself, we're going to focus on the coal." 

Naked and covered in coal dust. 

"And what do we do with coal? We burn it." Cinna says. "You're not afraid of fire, are you Ash?" He sees my expression and grins.


	6. Chapter 6

A few hours later I'm wearing what could possibly be the deadliest costume ever. Either way, it'll be breathtaking. I glance nervously at Cinna. 

"It's not real fire." He assures us. "It's synthetic, plus your suits are made to protect you." 

I glance at Gale. I look away and glance towards the other tributes. The boy from two is staring at us. We must look like a meal to them. Unlucky for them, survival is second nature to me and I don't go down without a fight. I stare him directly in the eye and raise my chin. It may be stupid of me but he doesn't get to think of me like that. Beside him is the girl who won two years ago, the girl who killed my sister. As I look in his eyes, I realize that it's not hunger for my blood in them, it's pity. He must recognize me, or his mentor might. The girl with a dead sister. Well, I refuse to be the dead girl with a dead sister. They will know my name whether I live or die. At least my face is clear of makeup and my hair has been rebraided into a bunch of tiny braids and then one big braid. 

"I want the audience to recognize you when you're in the arena. Ash Rooker, the girl on fire." Cinna says dreamily. It crosses my mind that he could be crazy. His demeanour suggests that it could be the case. I'm relieved that Gale shows up in the same outfit as me. His stylist, Portia, and her team are giddy with excitement about the splash we'll make but Cinna seems weary about the congratulations he receives. We're loaded into a chariot just like the other tributes. Our horses are coal black and so well trained they don't need someone to lead them. 

Cinna and Portia make sure we're well arranged and then they step away to consult with each other. I look at Gale. "What do you think? About the fire?" I whisper.

"I'll rip off your cape if you'll rip off mine." Gale says through his teeth. 

"Deal." I say. If we get them off soon enough, maybe we can avoid the worst of the burns. "I know we promised Haymitch we'd do exactly what they said, but I don't think he considered this angle." 

"Where is Haymitch, anyway? Isn't he supposed to protect us from this sort of thing?" Gale asks. 

"Well all the alcohol in him makes it unsafe for him to be around an open flame." I say. Suddenly we're laughing. I guess we're both so afraid of the games and more pressingly the flame that we aren't thinking or acting sensibly. 

The opening music begins. It's very easy to hear. Massive doors slid open to reveal the street lined with crowds of citizens. The ride lasts around twenty minutes. They show us off to the districts. I'm hoping that during the Games they protect Prim. It will eventually lead to the Training Center where we will be housed until the Games. 

District One pulls out of the Remake Center to loud applause. They're always favourites. They look beautiful, spray painted silver, in tunics covered in jewels. 

District Two follows them taking the boy who pities me. Slowly the Districts trickle out and we reach the door. Right as the tributes from Eleven leave the Center, Cinna appears. He holds a torch and lights out capes and headdresses. I wait for the burning to start but it only tickles. He sighs in relief. "It works. Remember heads up high. Smiles." He tucks his hand under my chin and raises my head. "They'll love you." 

Cinna jumps down and has another idea. He shouts something up at us but the music drowns him out. He shouts again and gestures at our hands. 

"Whats he saying?" I ask Gale. I look at him and incased in flames he's dazzling. I must be too. 

"I think he said for us to hold hands." Gale says. He grabs my hand and we look at Cinna, who nods and gives us a thumbs up. We pull into the city.

The crowds alarm at our appearance quickly turns to cheers and shouts of "District Twelve!" Everyone looks at us and we're the center of attention. I catch a look at us on the screen and Cinna was right about our makeup. We both look prettier but recognizable. Cinna's voice fills my head for a second and I raise my chin pushing on my most winning smile. I wave with my free hand and blow kisses in to the crowd. The crowd is going crazy. They're throwing flowers and shouting our first names. 

Cinna has made me unforgettable. They won't forget Ash Rooker, the girl on fire. Someone throws a Rose and I catch it blowing them a kiss. They all reach up to grab it and they shout my name. I gently pull Gales hand up and hold them above our heads. As we enter the City Circle I realize that I must be cutting off the circulation in Gales hand. I lower our hands and loosen my grip. Gale regains it. 

"No, don't let go of me. Please I might fall off." Gale says looking at me. The firelight reflects in his grey eyes. 

"Okay." I answer. It makes me feel safer too. The twelve chariots fill the loop as we pull up to President Snows mansion. The president gives the official welcome, I can't believe I'm actually related to him. They traditionally show each tributes face but we have stolen the cameras. During the anthem they do try to get each tribute but they follow us as we finish the parade. 

The doors shut behind us and we're engulfed by our prep teams. They're babbling our praise as they slowly fade more into incoherence. The tributes are giving us dirty looks confirming that we outshone them, literally. Except the boy from Two. His eyes hold less pity and a little bit of respect. Maybe he understands that I'm finally a contender. 

Cinna and Portia carefully remove our capes and headpieces and Portia extinguishes them. I realize I'm still glued to Gale and force my hand to open. We both massage our hands trying to help the blood keep flowing. 

"Thanks for keeping hold of me. I was getting a little shaky out there." Gale says. 

"It didn't show. I'm sure no one noticed." I answer. 

"I'm sure they didn't notice anything but you. You should wear flames more often. They suit you." He says sweetly. He smiles at me, its a genuine smile. I smile back and rub my arms. 

"Let's go up to your room." Cinna says. I nod and we start up. They filter into an elevator but I stop. 

"I'll catch the next one." I say. They nod and the elevator shoots upwards. I step into the next one and I'm joined by the boy from Two and his mentor. 

"I'm Cato." The boy says softly. "I just wanted to say-" 

"You don't have to feel sorry for me because of my sister." I cut in. 

"No, but I want to apologize." His mentor, Terra says. She was the won who killed my sister. "I was just trying to get home." 

"I understand." I answer. I bite my lip. "Ash." 

"Nice to meet you Ash." Cato says holding out his hand. He surprisingly nice. I shake his hand. 

"Well I think this is your stop." I say. They nod and leave. I shoot up to the twelfth floor and step out. All the districts have their own floor.

"Well what held you up?" Haymitch asks. 

"Terra Hadley and the boy from Two joined my elevator." I answer. "They wanted to apologize for my sister." 

Haymitch nods. "I liked your sister. She was sweet." He muses. "I wanted her to win." 

"So did I." I say. I mainly just wanted her to be alive. So I didn't have to explain that one more person Drift loved wasn't coming back.


	7. Chapter 7

I walk into my room and strip my clothing off to shower. The sooner I'm out of this makeup the better. I scrub myself clean and when I'm out I carefully unbraid my hair. Since my hair was washed this morning, I left it alone and it's now dry in curls around my head. It frames my face in a way I haven't seen in years. 

I walk out to join the others. Cinna smiles at me and I sit beside Gale. The reshowing of the parade starts and I can't help but keep my eyes on our chariot. We're breathtaking, like I thought we would be. Only Districts One and Two could hold a candle to us, and even then it would be a very dim candle. We really did outshine everyone. Everyone cheers for us. Our prep team is a flurry of congratulations. Cinna and Portia accept all of the congratulations with grace and try to pass it along to us. 

"We should talk about tomorrow." Haymitch says. "If you want you could go early, get some practice in." 

"That would be nice." I agree. "I need to get used to the bow here." 

"Alright but don't do anything you're good at while around other tributes." Haymitch warns. "To the others make yourself seem weak." 

"Alright." Gale agreed. I nod. 

"Sounds easy enough." I answer. 

"Get some rest. You'll need it." Haymitch says. We all stand and walk towards our rooms. I pause and hurry to a door that leads to the roof. I climb to the roof and pause. Cato is here. 

"Cato." I say softly. 

"Hey Ash." Cato says. I walk over to him and take a seat next to him. "Terra said this was her favourite place to be after the games. She felt free up here." 

"You're scared." I say. He pauses then nods. 

"Aren't you? I mean I'm one of the biggest threats in that arena but I might die." Cato says.

"Yeah but not cause I might die." I answer staring out over the city. "Death hasn't scared me for about two years. I'm scared of letting down the only people I have left." 

"What happened two years ago?" He asks. I sigh. 

"Terra." I say. 

"Oh." Cato asks. I know I shouldn't but he can't use this against me. After all it didn't make me go numb, it woke me up. It gave me a reason to survive. 

"My parents died in a mine accident when I was eleven. I had two sisters to protect and take care of, so I did. But then Terra got reaped. I was paralyzed and by the time I came around it was too late. I was 14 when she died and now I just have my youngest sister." I answer. He draws in a breath. 

"Wow. My family had it easy. My parents are both victors. My sister is a victor, my brother is a victor. I'm the last one and it's expected of me to win." Cato says. I sigh. 

"Well maybe you will. I mean hey maybe you'll win and find a pretty girl." I say. 

"I found one. She's actually here with me. Clove. But we broke up. I guess I'm slowly moving on. Neither of us deserve to win." Cato says. "But you do." 

"Nobody deserves to win the Games. Eventually we either lose the Games or we become killers." I answer. Cato nods. 

"Maybe you won't have to become a killer." Cato says. I shrug. 

"Maybe." I answer. 

"I don't want to win this. Maybe you can. I can help you win this." Cato says. I look at him. 

"But you have the best shot at winning." I answer. "Why would you want to help me?" 

"Because you will give the districts hope." Cato answers. 

"Alright. But promise me. Unless something changes you'll kill my district partner before I have to." I say. 

"I promise I'll leave him to the end." Cato says. I nod. 

"Thank you." I answer. 

"So you got someone back home?" Cato asks. I smile. 

"There's a girl. I've had the biggest crush on her since like I was ten. I think she likes me too." I answer smiling. 

"Well then you've got someone to get home to." Cato smiles. "Friends?" He asks. I smile and nod. 

"Friends." I agree. 

"So you need to learn how to fight." Cato says. "How early can you get down?" 

"I'll be up by five." I answer. Cato stands. 

"We should get to bed then." He says. He starts towards the door. 

"Hey Cato?" I say. He pauses and looks back at me. "Call me Phoenix." 

"Alright Phoenix." He agrees smiling. He leaves and I sigh. I stand and start for the door. Maybe I could do this. I open the door and walk down to our level. I step into the hallway and walk towards my room. 

"Phoenix!" Gale calls. I stop. 

"Yeah?" I ask. 

"What time should we go down tomorrow?" He asks. I think for a moment. Cato and I will have to head back up around nine for breakfast. Training officially starts at ten. If Cato and I go down at five we can be back up by seven. 

"Nine?" I offer. Gale nods. 

"Night Phoenix." He says. I slip into my room and slip into bed. Sleep welcomes me readily.

The next morning, true to my word, I get up before dawn and dress in the outfit already laid out for me. I slip down to the elevator and soon I'm flying down to floor two. Cato steps in with Terra. 

"She's on our side. Besides she can help us get in. And she'll help get you ready." Cato says. I nod. 

"Alright." I agree. I glance at them. She must be his sister. The doors open and we step into a training room. My eyes shift to the bows but Haymitch said not to show my strength in front of other tributes. 

"Any weapons you're good with?" Terra asks sizing me up. "I'm guessing a bow." 

I nod. "I'm also okay with throwing knives." I answer. 

"Let's get to work." Terra says. By the time we reached seven when we agreed to go up we realized that I was useless with a sword and I was too small to be that good at hand to hand combat. While I was okay with spears I wasn't good enough to make any noticeable difference when it came to the Games. We walk back to the elevator and soon we're flying up to our rooms. 

"Don't let the other careers know what you're doing." I tell Cato softly. He nods. 

"Don't let your partner know either." He says. I nod. 

"See you in a few hours." I answer as they leave. I fly up to my floor and I step out of the elevator. I walk to my room and sit down carefully braiding my hair into a single braid. It had been in a ponytail but it had kept getting tangled in Catos hands. In the arena it would be braided back into my normal braids so I would be free of that issue. I wait until I hear Effies tap on the door. I stand and walk out to the dining room.


	8. Chapter 8

Gale and I go down with Effie an hour early. The trainers are there but none of the other tributes are. I move immediately to the bows and pick one up. The string is tighter on this then my one back home. I carefully notch an arrow and pull it back aiming for the middle of the target. I release the string and it flies to side. It hits right outside the target. I start shooting at the target over and over. It slowly but surely gets closer and closer to the middle until I'm hitting the middle like I always do.

"Phoenix." Gale calls as he throws something into the air. I aim and shoot. It falls to the ground with my arrow in the middle of it. One of the trainers starts up a machine that throws them into the air for me. I start shooting them. Everything else falls away for a second and then I hear Gale hissing. I stop since I'm out of arrows and look around. Cato is standing there with a small smile. He must've been watching me. I put the bow down and collect the arrows. He must know now but it's alright hopefully. 

I set the arrows back in the quiver. I step away and start for the plants. Gale walks to work on snares instead and Cato joins me. 

"So you said you were good with a bow. I didn't think you were that good." Cato says smiling. 

"You didn't ask." I say smiling back. "Besides I said I was good with a bow." 

"That you did. Now how about you show me what you can do with throwing knives." Cato says tugging on the end of my braid. I laugh and walk over to the throwing knives and pick one up. I throw it and it lands in the middle of the target. This trip the knives have made me seem better than I am. "So you're multifaceted." 

"That is making me look better than I am." I smile. "It's just a skill I picked up." 

Cato smiles. "Well it'll be a useful skill." He says. He's flirting. It's how Gale flirts with Katniss and how girls flirt with Gale. 

"Oh like you and your sword?" I tease. Cato grins. 

"Yes like my sword." He answers. I must be flirting back. Of course he must be used to girls flirting. He's very good looking. Tall, blonde, blue eyed, and well muscled. He must've been constantly surrounded by girls back home. I step away from him. 

"We should split up before everyone else gets here." I say. Cato nods. 

"Make yourself look weak." He says. I smile. 

"You make yourself look strong." I say. He nods and I walk away. I join Gale at the snare station. 

"He shouldn't know you're good with a bow." Gale says. I roll my eyes. 

"I didn't know he was there. Besides, he would've known anyway." I say. "It would take an idiot not to realize." 

"He's buttering you up." Gale says. I look at him. It's times like this I despise him. He could be right but I'm also good at telling is someone's lying. 

"Or he could be helping me." I answer. Gale snorts. "You know this is your problem! You reject everyone you can't drag down with you." 

"At least I don't blindly trust everyone." Gale snaps. 

"I don't Gale. You should know that much." I snap turning on my heel and stalking to the plant recognition station. Even in my anger this is a breeze. It bodes well for the arena. I just need to show them how good I am with a bow. I try and stay away from the weapons as the morning wears on. 

As we leave for lunch one of the trainers stops me. "Ash Rooker, I would like to talk to you." 

"What do you want?" I ask crossing my arms. 

"I'm your brother, Leto Rooker." He says. I can see Cato messing with knives and staying back. 

"I don't have a brother." I answer. 

"I'm right here Ash please." Leto says softly. 

"Where were you when I needed you then?" I ask. 

"Oh so you're mad I didn't send you money?" Leto says. 

"No. I don't care about your money. I was eleven and taking care of two little kids." I snap. "On my own! I didn't need money. We had what we needed. I need support. I had no one! I was trying to keep all three of us out of a home and raise a two year old! I had no one." 

"Ash I didn't know." He says softly. 

"Don't. You don't get to do that." I step away and walk into the hallway. I walk into the corner and slide down the wall holding my head. Someone slides down to join me and rubs my arm. "I don't need a lecture right now." I snap. 

"I wasn't going to give you one." Cato says. "As far as sucky family goes you might take the cake." 

"Thanks." I mutter. I lean against him. He feels safe. He has since last night. Maybe he is safe. Maybe he's not. But right now I don't care that much. He slides his arm around me and I stare forward. I close my eyes for a second and try to compose myself. 

"Come on. Food will make you feel better." Cato says. I nod and stand. He stands with me and smiles softly. "Siblings suck." 

"Siblings suck." I agree. 

"Come on." Cato leads me into the dining room and we both load up on food. He joins his group and I join Gale. 

"What took you so long?" Gale asks. 

"Trainer wanted to talk." I shrug. Gale looks at me curiously. 

"About?" Gale prompts. 

"Nothing." I snap. "It's nothing." 

I quickly eat as much as I can and then stretch. We're allowed back in the training room and I go to the weapons. I focus on swords and spears for the sake of appearing weak. Gale joins me and we work in silence for the remainder of the afternoon.


	9. Chapter 9

I meet Cato on the roof again. This time I sit beside him and lean my head on his shoulder. He slips his arm around my waist and sighs. 

"Ash? This is going to sound crazy since we met two days ago but can I kiss you?" He asks softly. I pause and then nod. He leans over and softly kisses me. I kiss him back. It's nice. I want more of it. I pull back and take a deep shaky breath. 

"That was..." I trail off. "I don't know but I really liked it." 

"So did I." He says softly before kissing me again. We stay like that for a while, kissing and then pulling back to breathe. He pulls back a final time. "We should get to bed. See you tomorrow at the same time as today?" 

"Yeah sounds good." I smile and walk to the door. Cato slips his arm around me and spins me around kissing me again. I kiss him back and can't help but giggling slightly. I pull back and step backwards. "Come on we need sleep." 

"Alright fine but I think I'll ditch Terra tomorrow mornings maybe you can show me more with the bow." Cato offers. I smile and nod, 

"Maybe I will." I agree. I step into the stairwell and start down the stairs. He steps into the elevator and waves at me as he leaves. I walk to my room and lay down smiling. Tonight was very nice. Almost too nice. Sleep overtakes me soon. 

I go down the next morning at the same time. Cato joins me in the elevator alone and kisses me quickly. We reach the training room and head into the room and we head to the archery section. I slip a quiver around myself and pick up a bow. I pull back an arrow and aim at the target. It flies into the center and Cato whistles. 

"Mind showing me how to do that?" He asks. I smile. 

"Pick up a bow." I say stepping back. He picks up a bow and quiver. He pulls back an arrow and shoots. He's not good. "You're getting there." I manage. He laughs. 

"You can say I suck." He grins. 

"Fine you're not good. But you're way too tense. Plus you're using this like you can make it work with brute strength." I say. He nods. "Watch me." 

I pull back an arrow. In a way, he reminds me of Gale when he was first learning how to shoot. I make sure I'm relaxed and release the arrow. 

"Okay." Cato pulls back an arrow. 

"Move your hands back. Just use your fingertips." I say. I gently move his fingers back so he's just holding onto the string. "Now release." 

He releases the arrow and it flies towards the target. It hits the shoulder. 

"Well you'll at least wound them!" I say smiling. 

"Great now you're getting better with a sword." Cato says firmly. 

"They weight the same as me." I protest. Cato chuckles. He must be twice my weight. It hits me as he steps towards me and catches my face in his hands. 

"Then we get you a short sword." He answers kissing me quickly. I wrinkle my nose. 

"Fine." I agree. He takes my hand and leads me to the swords and selects a short sword. I take it from him and sigh. "It does feel better." I agree.

"See? Maybe I'm right some of the time." Cato grins. 

"Well maybe." I answer smiling. "But they don't always have swords." 

"They don't always have bows either. Besides they're more likely to have a short sword." He says brushing a curl out of my eyes. "By the way are you keeping the curls for the games?" 

"No it's way too hard to keep them maintained. They're getting back to being braided." I answer. He pouts for a second. "Hey maybe you'll see them again." 

"Maybe." He smiles. "Well you are going to chop the arms off this dummy." 

I swing the sword and it gets stuck part of the way through. "Maybe I can just stab them?" I suggest. Cato smiles and wraps his arms around me, he swings the sword with me through the dummy's arm. 

"So maybe you just stab them. You probably have enough weapons that you're good at to help survive this." Cato says. 

I smile. "Well that's very good to hear." I glance at the clock. "We need to go." 

"Breakfast already?" Cato asks. I nod. "Well come on." He wraps his arm around me and we start for the elevator. I hear the elevator door opening and I drag him into the dining room. The voices of the other careers and Gale fill the room. "What's happening?" He whispers. 

"I don't know." I whisper. Gale is working with the careers. "But if there's a bow we have to get to it first. You have to get to your sword." I bite my lip. "We can't let them see us leave." 

Cato nods and sneaks the door open. He grabs my hand and we sneak to the elevator shooting up to his floor. He kisses me quickly and steps out of the elevator. I fly up to my floor and slip into the dining room. I load my plate and start eating. Haymitch comes to join me. 

"Haymitch I would like to be mentored on my own from now on." I say. Haymitch nods. 

"Alright. What changed?" Haymitch asks. I hesitate. 

"I've been going down early with the boy from Two, Cato, and today I heard Gale with the other careers. If he's going to be hunting me, I want to make sure he doesn't know my strategy." I answer. Haymitch nods. 

"Well after tomorrow it's just the interviews. Is there anything about you and Cato that we could market?" Haymitch asks. I blush brightly. 

"I mean he's kissed me a few times." I mumble.

"Perfect we can market the star crossed lovers. Who's his mentor? Brutus or Terra or Enobaria?" Haymitch asks. 

"I think he has Terra. I think the girl from his District is being mentored by Enobaria." I answer. Haymitch nods. 

"Let me see if Terra and I can talk tomorrow while you two train early then." He says. The elevator doors open and Gale joins us. 

"So two more days of training." Gale says starting to eat. I nod and finish my meal. 

"Yeah two more days." I agree. 

"Well I'm going to go get drunk. You guys do great in training today." Haymitch walks away. Gale and I fall into silence until Effie comes to take us down to train.


	10. Chapter 10

The morning of our second day of training goes smoothly. At lunch Cato stops next before I can leave. 

"Hey, what's going on up on twelve?" He says softly. 

"Haymitch is mentoring me separately. He wanted to know if we had anything that could be used to our advantage and I told him about ya know the kissing so he's gonna talk to Terra to see what they can do as a team." I say softly. Cato nods. 

"Terra will help." He says. "Now the private session." 

"I'm doing archery. I'll make sure they notice me." I smile. Cato smiles and kisses me softly. 

"Alright well try not to stand out to much." He says. He leaves A few seconds before I do. I rejoin Gale at the same table as last time and we fall silent. We eat quickly and stay at the table until we're set free again. We go to the spears as a team like Haymitch instructed us to. The girl from 11 in watching us. She looks ten up close. 

"I think her name is Rue." Gale says softly. 

"What does it matter?" I snap. After all what does it matter? One of us will be dead in a few days or weeks. Gale shrugs and drops it. We move on and this time Rue joins us. She's smart, she's good with plants like me and she always hits the target with a slingshot. It makes me wonder what she could do with a slingshot against someone like Gale or Cato? I mean with the right shot she could take them down but it would have to be a perfect shot. Gale breaks away from us to weightlift. 

"You shouldn't trust your District partner." Rue says softly. I glance over at her. 

"I don't. You be careful in the arena okay? Try and out live everyone." I say softly. She nods and we part. I head back over to the swords. It wouldn't be terrible to have professional help. 

"Ash!" Leto says obviously relieved to see me. 

"Leto. I'm just hear to learn how to use a sword." I say stiffly. I watch Cato dismember a dummy. He's my competition. Sure he's also on my side but if it gets down to the two of us how am I supposed to beat him? 

"Well you're too small for swords like that, so how about a short sword." Leto hands me a short sword and I hold it in my hand for a moment. I hate the weight in my palm. I hate that I know it could kill someone. I swing the sword and it once again gets stuck in the arm of the dummy. I manage to get it free and instead stab the dummy. I would be better with a knife then a sword. Leto leaves to help another tribute and Cato pauses. 

"Well shorty guess that gives me one advantage." He says. He's giving me a smirk but his eyes are smiling. 

"They don't always have swords." I shoot back suppressing my smile. He steps closer so he's towering over me. I cross my arms and fake a glare up at him. 

"They don't always have bows either doll." He says softly enough that no one else can hear. The nickname makes me shiver. 

"Yes well good luck with that." I step back and leave the area before I start blushing. I can tell he's grinning behind me. I go over to the throwing knives which I know I was supposed to avoid but I might as well get some practice. 

I spend the rest of the day by the knives with Clove, the girl from Cato's District. By the time we're done with training I'm ready to crash and leave to eat dinner and get clean. Instead of heading up to the roof to spend time with Cato, I'm forced to talk to Effie about making myself seem more approachable to the other tributes. They're going to kill me anyway. 

The next morning I wake and get dressed. I sneak over to Haymitch's room and shake him awake. "What?" He snaps. 

"You said you wanted to meet Terra this morning while Cato and I train." I answer crossing my arms. Haymitch sighs. 

"I'm coming. Just let's me get dressed." He says. I nod and leave the room for the elevator. I wait for Haymitch to join me. He joins me after a minute and we walk into the elevator. We shoot down to floor two and Cato and Terra join us. While Cato doesn't kiss me this morning he does sneakily take my hand. 

"Alright we talked yesterday today we're talking to you two." Terra says. I nod. The elevator opens and our mentors lead us to the dining room. 

"Alright. We're giving you two a better backstory." Haymitch says sitting down. "You two met on Terras victory tour. You started talking on the phone. You fell in love. Now you're here, and you proposed." 

"Guess we're moving quickly." Cato jokes. I smile. 

"So when and how did he propose?" I ask. 

"He proposed on the roof, the last night of training. Which I tipped of Caesar Flickerman. He's all over it. So you have to propose to her tonight." Terra says. Cato nods. I smile. 

"Do I at least get a ring?" I joke. Haymitch sets a ring box on the table. I open it. "You have good taste." 

"I know." Cato jokes. 

"Okay so you two have to play it up during the interviews. You can't live without each other." Terra says. I nod. 

"Now we just have to get that surly attitude out." Haymitch grins. 

"I don't have a surly attitude." I answer. 

"You're just like your dad." Haymitch says. "I should know, he was my best friend." 

"Alright maybe I'm sort of surly." I shrug. Haymitch grins. 

"Go train." He says. Cato and I leave. 

The morning of our final day of training starts normal. At lunch we're kept inside the dining room as people are called one by one. Cato glances over at me as he leaves. Finally it dwindles down to me and Gale. Gale finally gets called and then I go in. By now they've had too much to drink. They're distracted. I can't hope that they'll notice me. So I guess I have to make them notice me. 

"Ash Rooker. District Twelve." I say loudly. They kind of start paying attention. I grab a bow and the matching quiver and take aim. I hit the bullseye and glance up. They've taken to ignoring me. After my name they must've written me off. Anger wells up inside of me. Haymitch is right, I am like my father. We both get angry quickly. I pull back an arrow and aim it at the Apple in the pigs mouth. The pig had just arrived and they were starting to gather. I released the arrow and it flew exactly where I was aiming. It buries itself in the wall behind them with the Apple attached. I bow sarcastically. "Thank you for your consideration." I say. 

I leave the room and quickly strip off my archery equipment. I throw it to the side and step into the elevator letting it shoot up to my floor. I step off and walk to my room closing the door behind me. I curl under the blankets and stay there for a few hours. Finally Effie calls me for dinner and I stand walking out to the dining room. 

"So how did your sessions go?" Haymitch asks. Gale shrugs. 

"Good. They did really pay attention to me though." He says. 

"I shot an arrow at their heads." I answer. "Well at an Apple but it was by their heads." 

Haymitch grins. "I would've loved to see their faces." 

"They were just kind of shocked. So I left." I smile. Haymitch shakes his head. 

"Genius." He grins. "Absolute genius." 

"How about bad manners?" Effie sniffs. "They could do so much to her." 

"They're already going to kill me! What the hell else can they do?" I snap. 

"Without telling people what you did, which they can't, they won't do much." Haymitch shrugs. "They May give you a bad score but I doubt it." 

"Well it's time for the scores." Effie turns on the tv and the names start passing by. Cato manages to get a ten. Most people don't have great scores. Gale manages to get an eight. They must've been gone watching him a little. 

"Ash Rooker with a score of Eleven." Caesar reads. My eyes widen. I got the best score this year. 

"Congratulations!" Effie cheers. Everyone around me starts to congratulate me. Effie orders a cake to celebrate our scores and before long everyone is passed out. I stand and walk up to the roof. Cato waits for me. 

"So an eleven." He says softly. 

"Guess they liked me." I answer. He smiles.

"Guess they'll have a bow." He says softly. He glances at a corner where people are lurking. "Guess it's time." 

"Guess it is." I agree. He gets down on one knee. 

"Ash Rooker, will you marry me?" He says. I cover my mouth and nod. 

"Yes!" I exclaimed. I wrap my arms around him and hide my face so they don't see that I'm not crying. He gently slips the ring on me. 

"Good job doll." He says softly. I nod. 

"You too." I say back. We leave the roof to find some privacy. 

"Be careful of the other careers. They're mad you upstaged them." Cato warns. I nod and with that he leaves me. I walk into the living room and find Haymitch. 

"How did it go?" He asks. 

"Good. Guess I'm engaged." I say dropping onto the couch next to him. He passes me a bottle. I take a swig and it burns going down. 

"Well here's to hoping you make it out sweetheart." Haymitch says. We stay there drinking until we pass out.


	11. Chapter 11

My morning starts with Effie. After breakfast I'm made to put on a gown and heels. She makes me practice walking first. The dress tangles in my heels and nearly takes me down. 

"No no! Glide!" Effie orders. I try again and slowly glide across the floor. I slowly grow more confident and walk more then tip-toe. She makes me do this for what seems like hours and probably is. Then I get to sit, it's a blessing for my feet. She makes me practice smiling. She makes me smile while I say phrases. Smile while I end phrases. Smile while I begin phrases. My cheeks hurt by the end of our session and I'm glad to get to Haymitch for once. At least he won't make me smile. I kick my shoes off and hurry to my room to change into more comfortable clothes. 

I join the others for lunch and the boys seem cheerful. Maybe my session will go well. Lunch today is pork chops, mashed potatoes, carrots, and for dessert chocolate pudding. We eat until we're full and then Haymitch and I leave for the living room. Haymitch surveys me. 

"I'm ruling out sexy right now." He says. I sigh in relief. "Not only could you not pull it off, you're supposed to be in love with that boy." 

"What if I'm just a love struck teenager?" I suggest hopefully. I could pull that off. Haymitch considers it. 

"That could work." He agrees. He studies me. "We have to play up the whole volunteer for your sister thing." 

"They won't consider her my sister." I answer. As far as it's concerned, the Everdeens are my family. "I consider her my sister. But she wasn't the reason I volunteered. Her older sister, Katniss. She's why I volunteered. My entire life, even when I had nothing, I had Katniss. Her family needs her. Nobody needs me, it'll hurt them to lose me but they don't need me. Katniss can keep them alive." 

"So play into that. Talk about Katniss. She's your best friend. Make them feel their pain. Make them believe you. We might be able to save you both but you have to be prepared for what could come after." Haymitch warns. 

"Marriage. Would they make me move to Two?" I ask. Haymitch shrugs. 

"They might, he might move to Twelve. Either way if you have kids, they'll go into the games." He says. I nod. 

"Yeah. They always do," I say. "Victors kids always go into the games." 

"Yeah. Why do you think I never had kids?" Haymitch says. 

"Maybe I won't either." I shrug. Haymitch shrugs. He spends the next three hours making me answer questions in character. After our session we eat and we're sent to bed. 

The next day I'm handed over to my prep team. They redo my nails and carefully arrange my curls. They do my makeup so it's bright and fiery. After a few hours I'm turned over to Cinna. He makes me close my eyes and carefully lifts a dress over my head. It's heavy and covered in gems. He helps me into a pair of heels. 

"Alright open your eyes." Cinna says. I open my eyes and twist to see the back. As I twist fire flies up up my body and I gasp. 

"Cinna it's perfect." I say. "Sorry uncle Cinna." 

He glows slightly. I've finally accepted him as family. "So I heard you got engaged." He teases. 

"Haymitch says it'll help the Capitol like me more." I shrug. "I've never been good at getting people to like me." 

"You made me like you." Cinna says. 

"That's different I wasn't trying and you're my uncle." I answer. 

"So don't try. Just be you." Cinna says. 

"Maybe." I answer smiling. 

"They'll love you. Even without the dresses. They've loved you since day one. When you volunteered not to save Prim but to save Katniss." Cinna smiles. "I rewatched the tape. You looked at Katniss. You didn't want to lose Katniss. You knew Prim was safe." 

"Katniss was never going to let Prim go." I answer tears welling up in my eyes. "They need her. No one needs me." 

"They do need you." Cinna answers. "Prim latched onto you immediately. Katniss tried to take your place. Drift was distraught. They need you. Just make sure you get home." 

"Okay." I say shakily. There's a knock on the door and we stand. 

"Just smile, blow them away." Cinna says. I'm led to join a line. They lead us onto stage and some of the other tributes are distracted by my dress. We take our seats and the interviews start. I most zone out because of my nerves. 

"Cato Hadley District Two!" Caesar says loudly. I start paying attention for the sake of our story. 

"Hey Caesar." Cato says grinning. 

"So we got to see something special yesterday which we'll show. Want to talk about it?" Caesar asks. 

"Well last night I got engaged to the love of my life." Cato says shooting a smile at me. 

"Want to share who that is?" Caesar asks. 

"Yeah it's Ash Rooker from District Twelve." Cato says. "I was fortunate enough to meet her during my sisters victory tour and we've dating ever since. At the parade I finally saw her again and I knew she was the one." 

Caesar awwws with the crowd. Cato smiles. "So when's the wedding?" 

"Well we were thinking about getting married before the Games but we don't have enough time. If we manage to survive we'll be married as soon as possible." Cato says. 

"Alright. Now how do you feel about the Games?" Caesar asks. 

"I'm prepared and ready to go." Cato says. I zone out again and soon it's my turn. 

"Ash Rooker District Twelve!" Caesar says. I join him. 

"Hi Caesar." I say smiling. 

"So youre engaged." He says. 

"Yes. And it was the happiest moment of my life. I know if my parents were still here they would be so happy for us." I say. Caesar nods. 

"Now let's talk about the girl you volunteered for." He says. 

"Prim but I didn't volunteer for her. I volunteered for her sister, Katniss. I knew no matter what the Prim was safe. Katniss would've never let her go but they need Katniss and I couldn't let her die." I say. "But I'm glad I ended up here. Otherwise I might have never seen Cato again." 

"Adorable. So the flames are they real?" Caesar asks. 

"Yes, in fact I'm wearing them tonight. Would you like to see?" I ask. He nods and the crowd cheers. I stand and start spinning. The crowd cheers. I soon become dizzy and Caesar helps me into my seat. 

"So Katniss. How long have you known her?" He asks. 

"My whole life. My father, her father, and Haymitch were friends and it was only natural for the two of us to become friends. She's like my sister. Her family is my family at this point." I say. I blink to keep from crying. They can't see me as weak. 

"What do you think her mother would say about you and Cato?" He asks. 

"I think she would say I'm too young for a boyfriend. Or at least too young to be this serious." I smile. Caesar chuckles and our time ends. I walk back to my seat and let Gale take his turn. 

I ignore what Gale has to say. We're allowed to leave and I start back to our floor when I'm stopped by a peacekeeper. This must be about training. They must be punishing me. 

"President Snow would like to see you." The peacekeeper says leading me up to an office. He lets me inside and I nervously walk in. Snow looks back at me. 

"Hello Ash. I'm sure you know by now that I'm your great grandfather." Snow says patiently. "When one of my offspring enters the Games I like to give them one final request. Your sister asked to make sure her family was taken care of. What's your request?" 

I think for a few moments. Even if I die Katniss can take care of her family. She can also take care of the Hawthornes. Which leaves Cato. "If Cato and I get to the end let us both win." I say. 

"Alright. He'd have to move to Twelve." Snow warns. I nod. "Well I'll see you soon then." 

I've clearly been dismissed and so I leave. I'm taken back to the training center and left by the elevator. Cato waits for me. 

"Hey you just kind of disappear." He says. 

"Cato we can both win. We just have to get to the end." I say quickly. 

"What? Slow down." He says. 

"Snow is my great grandfather. He's gave me one last favour. He said if we both make it to the end we can go home together. You'd just have to move to twelve." I say. Cato grins. 

"Guess I'll be moving to twelve." He says. I smile and kiss him. We keep kissing and slowly his hand moves to my bare skin. 

"We should go to one of our rooms." I say pulling back. He nods and we step inside. He hits the button for twelve. I find our shared living spaces empty. I assume because they're in their rooms. We sneak into my room and quickly strip out of our interview outfits. I make him wait for a few minutes as I scrub my face clean. Then we start kissing and slowly fall into a rhythm.


	12. Chapter 12

We stay awake through the night. Cato keeps stroking my hair and kissing my head.

"Hey, if we win, mind if we don't get married right away? I feel like I barely know you." I say. I feel him nod. 

"No I think that's a great idea. I do know I love you." He says. 

"I love you too." I mumble. I sigh. "We should get dressed and you should go down to your floor." 

We both slide out of my bed and dress quickly. I walk him to the elevator and he kisses me deeply. 

"Don't go to the cornucopia. I'll take care of that." Cato says softly. I nod. 

"I'll find us water." I promise. "Then we just need to find each other." 

"Hey, we can find each other. We just have to stay alive long enough to get there." Cato says. The elevator comes and he leaves. I walk to the living room and sink to the floor. 

"Hey Ash." Cinna says softly. I glance up at him. "Mind if I redo your braids?" 

"No go ahead." I answer. He settles onto the couch and carefully rebraids my hair into my tiny braids. "If I die, try and take care of the Everdeens." 

"I will but you're not going to die. You are going to make it out of this. You're going to go home and you four are going to live happily in Twelve." Cinna says firmly.

"Five." I say. "Apparently Snow gives his offspring a last request when they go into the games. He said if Cato and I make it to the end, we can win together. Cato just has to live in Twelve." 

"Do you think he'll keep his word?" Cinna asks. 

"If he doesn't I'll force his hand. I'm not coming out of the Games without Cato." I say. Cinna nods. 

"Well you missed the interview recap. They're replaying it all night long." Cinna offers. I nod and he turns it on. Most of the tributes are forgettable. Cato's declaration of love for me and the news of our engagement send ripples through the crowd. My interview does come across as a girl in love. Most of my depth comes from what Cato says. But then there's the part about Katniss. It makes me seem tragic. I sacrificed myself for my best friend. I've gone beyond what most people would do for their friends and become the sacrificial lamb. Gale is forgettable after us. He tries to play up his family but it doesn't work in the face of what Cato and I did. "Go to bed. You need sleep." 

I walk to my room and try to sleep but I mostly end up dozing through the night. I'm roused at dawn and given a simple sheath to dress in. I'm lead to the roof and a ladder drops down. I grab it and I'm frozen in place. They raise me up and a woman approaches me. 

"This is your tracker Ash. The stiller you the better I'll be able to place this." She says. I'm not sure what she's talking about. I'm as still as a stone. She presses something into my arm and there's a sharp pinch before it beeps and I'm set free. 

We fly for about half an hour before the windows darken and I know we're close to the arena. All I can hope for is trees. We're lead through the catacombs and taken into the Launch Room. I shower quickly and brush my teeth. My outfit was left here. Cinna had no say in it so it's a surprise to both of us. He helps me into the undergarments, light green blouse, a thin black jacket, and tan pants. I slip into the boots which remind me of my hunting boots back home. They've got a good tread. Good for running. 

"This jacket will reflect your body heat. Be prepared for some cool nights." Cinna says. I nod. He gently attaches my pin. "They barely let this through and your ring is considered Cato's token since he didn't have one before." 

"Thank you." I say. He helps me into the tube. 

"If I could bet. I'd bet on you." He says. 

"Truly?" I ask. 

"Truly." He says as the tube closes and cuts me off from him. It slowly rises and takes me into the arena. It's dark for a few moments and then the sun shines brightly down on me, blinding me momentarily. 

I glance around and quickly spot the bow. I search the circle for Cato and he smiles at me. He points towards the trees and I nod. The minute slowly fades away and I position myself towards a backpack. The gong rings and I run scooping up a piece of plastic and a loaf of bread. I grab the bag and am quickly stopped by the boy from nine I grapple him for a moment before he coughs up blood onto my face. I stumble back and scoop my bread back up before starting for the trees. Clove is right behind me. I hear the knife whizzing and I hoist my bag up. The knife lodges itself in the bag and I smile. I pause at the tree line to look back. The fighting is still going on and I can't find Cato. I turn and start running again. The further away I am from the fighting the better. 

Around mid afternoon I stop. By now the canons are ringing. I count eleven. Cato was strong enough and skilled enough he couldn't have been one of them. I carefully go through my supplies while I wait. A sleeping bag. Some crackers. Some jerky. Iodine. A dry water bottle. A pair of sunglasses that don't work. I sigh and stand again. I need to find water. I keep walking and soon start going downhill. I hate valleys. I'd rather be up high. I pass a few rabbits which is good news. It means that there's water nearby. 

As night falls I search for a tree. Most of the trees won't offer me enough protection or cover. I finally find a willow and start climbing. I find a fork and someone taps my shoulder. I turn as quickly as I can and sigh in relief to find Cato. He passes me the bow and I smile. I get out my sleeping bag and we both slide in. I make him take his belt off and I belt us in. The anthem fills the arena and the dead are flashed on screen. All the careers survived except the boy from four, the boy from three, the girl from five, the girl from ten, the boy from eight, both from six, seven and nine. 

Some idiot starts a fire and it's right by us. What's left of the career pack will find them soon. Sure enough footsteps of two boys and three girls soon follow. There's a scream and then a canon. They walk for a little and then stop. 

"If only we could find the lovers." Clove says. 

"Don't worry, I know how she works. We'll find her soon enough." A voice says. I recognize that voice. It's Gale.


	13. Chapter 13

Cato slips his arm around my waist and shakes his head. I grip my bow. Gale turned against me. I knew this was coming but it's still a shock. Poor Katniss. We wait in the tree until dawn and then slowly get out and repack. Cato has a sword and his own pack. We leave the tree and I quickly pick off a rabbit. 

"The coals." Cato says softly. I nod and carefully clean the animal. I leave the head, feet, and guts under some leaves and carefully fashion a spit. I roast the rabbit over the spit and then split it between us. 

"Got any water?" I ask. He shakes his head and I sigh. "We need to find water." 

"Let's find it then." He says. We start walking and I'm in much worse shape then before. My tongue is dry and my lips are cracked. 

By the time night falls I'm hoping for a miracle. Haymitch! Surely I must have some sponsors. "Water." I croak hopefully. Nothing comes. I must be missing something. If he won't send it then it must be close. 

"Theyre leaving us to die." Cato says. I shake my head. 

"If Haymitch won't send it, it's because we're close." I say. "Come on let's get into a tree." We climb into the tree and carefully check over our supplies. We both have a sleeping bag but still cuddle up in one together. It makes me feel safer despite that it's harder for me to shoot. 

The next morning is harder to deal with. I force us up and to keep going. Neither of us have really dealt with dehydration like this before. Around mid afternoon Cato falls. I manage a few more steps and I'm on the ground too. I swirl my fingers in the mud. I love mud. It has so many uses. Something sweet scents the air. Mud! If there's mud there must be water. I drag myself a little bit further and plunge into the small pond. I pull myself up gasping and sputtering. I can't drink the water now. I carefully fill my water bottle and purify it. I force myself to wait the half an hour and sip the water. I slowly drink the whole half gallon and refill it. Once it's purified I take it to Cato and slowly help him rehydrate. 

"Come on. We're going to the pond." I say. I drag him up and we slowly hobble to the pond. I fill both our water bottles and purify them. We slowly drink them too. I break out our crackers and dried fruit and we nibble on it. Slowly we get back to normal and I smile. 

"Well now that we feel better." Cato sneaks a kiss. I giggle and kiss him back. I told him I loved him. I think I really do. Madge flits into my mind. But Madge is a problem for another day. I know I like Cato at least but right now and the past week haven't been the time for that. "We should stay here for a few days." 

"Yeah." I agree. I pick up a fallen stick and start whittling. "I'm going to set up some snares." 

"Yeah it'll be good to have some fresh meat." Cato agrees. I nod. 

"We should also get some sleep." I say. I finally start counting my arrows. I have 24. One for each of the tributes. I have a shot. I could find a tree and just sit there eating squirrels and picking off anyone who walks below the tree. I refill our bottles and get him back up. 

"Back into a tree?" Cato asks. I nod. 

"It's the safest place for us." I say. I select a tree and scurry up it. He follows me slightly clumsily and I smile. I pick a large branch big enough to support both of us. "We sharing a bag again?" I ask. Cato nods and I get the bag out. My backpack is thankfully black and easily hidden. I slide into the bag and Cato follows. He belts us in and wraps his arms around me. We kiss Goodnight and fall asleep. 

We wake the next morning to a wall of fire. I scramble to unbelt us and we fall to the ground in a heap. Cato gets out of the sleeping bag and helps me out. I sling my bow over my shoulder and jumble up the bag in my arms. We start running and I dodge to avoid a falling tree and find that the fire has separated me and Cato. I slip behind a rock and start gagging. I vomit until theres nothing left in my stomach and then give myself a minute to shove my sleeping bag back into my backpack and sip some water. I force down a cracker and then start running. A hissing sounds and a fire ball shoots towards me. I jump out of the way and slide down a hill. I start running again. I keep dodging fire balls for a while. I'm too slow and one skids across my calf. I bite back a scream of pain and scramble away. I rip the pants leg away and then have the sense to roll. I get up and start running again but the fire balls have stopped. I slow down as I find a spring fed pond. I lower my hands into it and nearly cry out in relief. I take a chance and lower my leg it. It's pain revealing almost instantly. 

I soon find that my leg is too burned to be taken out of the water. My hands can handle a few minutes out of the water so I take some time to roll up my bag and get everything back in order. I lean back and wait for everyone. If the career back came through the trees I would still run. Sure enough the career pack bursts through the trees and I go flying. I'm slower then I would be normally but so are they. I fly up the tree and make sure to get to the top of the tree so Gale can't follow. I smile and wave teasingly. 

"Lovely weather we're having." I call. Gale is taken back. 

"Bit warm for my taste." He answers. I shrug. 

"It's better up here." I call. He starts climbing and is soon plummeting down to the ground. The girl from One tries to climb up the tree but is smart enough to stop when the branches start cracking. I slip my bow off and aim down at them but I stop before I shoot. I need to chase them away and I don't think I can stomach killing all of them. 

"Let's wait her out." Gale says. The others nod and they set up camp under the tree. I carefully set up my sleeping back and slide in. It's too hot for my leg so I slash it open. I stare up into the other tree and see a pair of raccoon eyes. I sit up. That's Rue. Her small hands slides out of the tree with out rustling a branch and points up. I follow her hand and see a nest. Wasps or maybe tracker jackers. My best bet is to do it during the anthem. I shove my bag and bow into my sleeping bag and get out my knife. I climb to the nest and stay there until the anthem starts. I start sawing and grit my teeth. It hurts me way too badly for this to be good for my hands. 

By the time the anthem is over I'm almost through the branch. I climb back down to my sleeping bag and find a parachute. Attached is a tiny jar of of medicine. I open the jar and probe it with my fingers. I sigh as the relief hits instantly. I generously apply it to my burns and crawl into my sleeping bag falling asleep. 

I wake the next morning when a bird chips beside my ear. My hands have almost healed overnight and my calf is now a light pink rather then the red it was last night. I reapply the ointment and look around. I carefully repack everything and swing my bow over my shoulder so everything is secure. 

"Rue!" I say softly. Her eyes reappear and she points at the hive. I hold up my knife and saw back and forth. She nods and then disappears. I hear rustling as she flies away. It's impressive. That's what she must've shown the Gamemakers. I climb the tree and pat down my hands before I start again. The tracker hackers have woken up from their smoke induced haze and a few are flying around lazily. There's a sharp stinging pain in my knee. One must've found me. 

I finally cut through the branch and shove it away from me. There's two more sharp stinging pains in my neck and cheek. The nest crashes down to the ground and bursts open sending them sprinting away. The girl from One and the girl from Four takes the brunt on it. The girl from One falls to the ground screaming. The girl from Four manages to leave to area and I carefully climb down. I stumble and fall to the ground. Someone's arms go around me and they help me up. I'm dropped again and I stumble to my feet. I start to run but the trees are morphing into a bunch of butterflies and bubbles. I hear a distorted yell of pain then someone catches my around the waist and helps me away from the scene. I fall forward and the world goes dark.


	14. Chapter 14

I find myself back in my home in District Twelve. My parents are there. 

"Mom! Dad!" I run over and hug them tightly. "I'm sorry I couldn't protect Terra." 

"Hey if you were protecting Terra who would've been protecting Drift?" My dad says. I sigh. 

"I would've. I just couldn't breathe." I say. 

"You've done so well for the past few years. I'm sorry we couldn't be there for you." My dad says brushing a piece of hair out of my eye. "You've grown so much." 

"I miss you. I just want you guys back." I say my voice breaking. 

"I know but Drift still needs you. That boy still needs you." Dad says. "Get home and take care of your family. You promised Prim." 

"I promised Prim." I agree. I hug him tightly one more time. "I love you dad." 

"I love you too Phoenix." He says. 

I wake up hidden by a fallen log. I'm stiff enough that I must've been out for a while. It was morning when the venom finally took me down and it's now late afternoon. 

"You're awake." Cato says obviously relieved. 

"How long was I out?" I ask shifting. I carefully sit up. "Are you okay?" 

"Two days." Cato says. "Gale got me in the leg. He was aiming for you." 

"Oh my god." I sit up quickly and check his leg. "I guess we have to try and keep it clean." 

It's deep. Down to the bone deep. It's beyond my capabilities to heal and I don't know how to keep it from getting infected. 

"It's bad isn't it?" Cato says. 

"No I can deal with this." I take a deep breath. There's a rustling behind us and I turn pulling back an arrow quickly. I relax when I see a child's boot peeping out behind the tree. "Rue? It's okay. We won't hurt you." I say. "Besides they aren't the only one who can make alliances." 

Rue steps out and walks down to join us. "You really want me as an ally?" 

"Yeah. You lasted this long and you're smart." Cato says. Rue smiles and sits next to me. 

"Who died while I was out?" I ask. 

"Glimmer and Marina." Cato says. "The girls from One and Four." 

"Oh." I say. "Well I'm going to go hunting." I stand and start into the woods. I quickly pick off three of these strange birds I keep seeing. I walk back to Cato and Rue and smile. "I have dinner." 

"Oh that's groosling!" Rue says recognizing it. "Sometimes when they wander into the field and we get a full meal." 

"Well we should cook them." I say. I carefully build a fire and glance around. I fashion a spit and carefully cook the three birds. 

"So what's the food situation like?" Cato asks. 

"They've got it all stacked up in a big pile down by the lake." Rue says. 

"That sounds tempting." I smile. "Maybe we could make this game fair." 

"But they're not hungry." Rue says frowning. 

"What if we changed that?" I smile. 

"But what about Cato?" Rue asks. I frown. We really can't bring Cato along for something like this. 

"Are there any caves around here?" I ask. Rue nods. 

"No I can help." Cato protests. 

"It doesn't look like you can walk Cato. We need to get that leg somewhere dry where it can heal." I snap. Cato sighs. 

"So stick me in a tree." He says. 

"You can barely climb trees with two good legs." I answer. He sighs and resigns himself. "So we find a cave and then we get everything set up." 

"Yeah can you help him?" She asks. I glance between the two of us. 

"Yeah." I answer. I pack away our other two grooslings and we eat quickly. 

After we eat I force Cato to stand and we walk several hours to a cave Rue found. I mean him against the wall and spread out one of our sleeping bags. I help him in and zip it up. 

Rue and I settle in the mouth of the cave and start talking. We slowly plan our attack and I keep glancing back at Cato. I can tell he's growing feverish. 

"We should have a signal." Rue says. I nod. 

"Any ideas?" I ask. I smile as a mockingjay lands near by. I sing a tune for it and it pauses before singing it back to me. 

"Perfect!" Rue says. She teaches me a four note tune. "We use it at quitting time. I'm normally highest in the tree so I see the flag first." 

"Yeah they're all around the meadow at home." I say. She smiles. 

"I like birds. They make music." Rue says. "That's my favourite thing in the world." 

I finally notice her burns. "Oh I have something for those." I say retrieving my burn ointment. I gently apply it to her burns and she sighs. 

"I have something for the stings." She says. "Lucky you got the stingers out otherwise these would be worse." 

"Cato must've done that." I say. I roll up my leg and she pulls a bunch leaves out of her pack. She chews it up and sticks the glob on my knee. "Oooooh." I sigh. "Do my neck! Do my cheek!" 

She smiles and obliges. "So how much of it is true?" 

"What?" I ask. 

"You and him." She teases. I smile and cover my mouth so I can whisper and the cameras won't catch it. 

"We just met after the parade." I confess in a whisper. I remove my hand and smile. "Yeah. It's all true." 

"So tell me about your family." Rue says. 

"Well it's just my sister and the Everdeens now. Drift is seven. She's such a brat in the mornings but every other time she's so happy to see me and she jumps on me with the biggest smile." I sigh. "I miss her." 

"I understand. I've got a bunch of younger siblings." Rue says. 

"Okay let's move onto Prim and Katniss. Prim is great. She's scared of a lot but she's the best healer. She'd actually be really helpful with Cato right now. Katniss is a lot like me. My mom refused to stop working after she had me so she would drop me off at the Everdeens and I would get put in the same crib as her. Once we were big enough we used to poke each other and help each other out of the crib. We one time made it all the way to the meadow by her house before her mom caught up. My parents came home to my hair being full of flowers and sticks. She's always been there for me. She's my literal other half." 

"Got any other friends in Twelve?" Rue asks curiously. 

"There's Madge. She's really smart and really pretty." I say smiling. 

"Right." Rue smiles mischievously. I wrinkle and blush slightly. 

"Anyway we should get some sleep before tomorrow." I say. Rue smiles and nods. I get out our second sleeping bag and slide into it. Rue joins me and snuggles up to me immediately. She must feel safe. I feel safe with her. I slowly drift off keeping my arm around her. 

The next day I help Rue set up the fires and start towards the lake. I find the area she mentioned. I can see them but they can't see me. They soon spot Rues smoke and leave. I'm about to leave my hiding spot when a glint of red hair appears. The girl from five approached the pile and started jumping carefully. She jumped over a barrel and landed on her tiptoes. She squealed as she fell forward and her hands hit the ground. She gets back up carefully and then reaches the pile and carefully takes her hat they won't notice. She does her same strange dance back out and runs into the woods. The landmines. 

I cross to the platforms and lift up the plate. It just confirms my theory. I chew my lip and put myself into range. Five arrows to get the job done. I pull back my first arrow and let it fly. It rips the the bag. I pull back my second arrow and let it fly. It makes the rip larger and an apple teeters on the edge of falling and I let my third arrow fly. It rips the bag wide open and the apples fall. The landmines go off and I'm blown backwards.


	15. Chapter 15

My right ear is ringing and when I reach up for my left ear, my hand comes back bloody. I pull my hood up. No blood trail. I can't get myself back to my feet so I start crawling. A few stray blasts knock me back onto my face and I just drag myself into my hiding place when they reappear. 

Gale is so enraged it's comical. He catches the boy from three around the neck and twists. A canon must go off because the others convince him they must've died in the explosions because he calms down and they move to the lake. The hovercraft appears and picks up the body of the boy from three. 

They stay at the lake until night fall and they only see the face of the boy from three. They put on the glass like the ones I have and the boy from one lights a torch. They stride into the woods and I slip my own glasses on. It's almost like it's day time. I cover myself in leaves and grit my teeth. It's quickly becoming colder during the nights and I'm missing my sleeping bag. 

The next morning my ear has stopped ringing and I find I can walk again. I get up and hurry towards Rue and my meeting spot. She isn't there so I climb a tree to wait. She probably got stopped. My mind finally drifts back Cato. I hope he's alright. I climb down and sprinkle mint leaves on the ground. This way she knew I was here and the others won't question it. Except Gale. He'd probably notice. I hurry away and keep my right ear cocked for information. My left ear is still dead. 

"Ash!" A scared scream pierces the air. 

"Rue!" I scream yelling towards the noise. I find Rue right as the spear enters her body. I pull back an arrow and it flies into the neck of the boy from One. I run over to Rue and cut her out of the net. 

"Did you blow up the food?" She asks. 

"Every single bit of it." I answer. 

"Can you sing?" Rue asks. 

"Yeah of course." I answer. I take a deep breath. "Deep in the meadow, under the willow.A bed of grass, a soft green pillow. Lay down your head, and close your eyes. And when they open, the sun will rise." 

Rues breathing slows but I have to finish the song. 

"Here it's safe, and here it's warm. Here the daisies guard you from every harm. Here your dreams are sweet, and tomorrow brings them true. Here is the place where I love you. Deep in the meadow, hidden far away. A cloak of green, a moon beam ray. Forget your woes, and let your troubles lay. And when again it's morning, they'll wash away. Here it's safe, and here it's warm. Here the daisies guard you from every harm. Here your dreams are sweet, and tomorrow brings them true.Here is the place where I love you." I sing softly. Rues eyes close and her canon goes off. I gently slide her head off my lap and stand. I can't leave her like this. I walk to the edge of the clearing and I carefully pick a bunch of flowers. I decorate her body carefully. Giving her a wreath of flowers, covering the ugly wound, outlining her body. I kiss her forehead and stand. 

I press my fingers to my mouth and hold them out. I retrieve my arrow from the boy from One and cut the packs from their backs. I leave the area trying to hold back my tears. They can't see me as weak. I start back to the cave and keep my head down. I slip into the cave and carefully go through their packs. 

"Ash." Cato moans. 

"Okay, help Cato." I tell myself softly. I feel his face. "You're burning up." I carefully get his pants off and check his leg. It's very swollen and red. While I was the best healer of our small group of hunters, it's normally small cuts or the larger ones that can be fixed by just adding a bandage and one of the many antibacterial herbs that are around district twelve. The leaves for the tracker jacket stings will at least help it with the swelling. 

I carefully get him up and take him down to the stream. I chew up some leaves and apply it to his leg. Pus runs out of his leg by the bucket. I turn to his other injuries and treat his burns and stings. I carefully reapply the leaves to his leg and then apply some of the burn ointment. I dig out the boy from Ones first aid kit and carefully bandage it and get some fever reducing medicine in him. I help him back up and back into the cave. I get him tucked in again and lean back against the wall taking a deep breath. Rue is gone. I fight back a scream and satisfy my urge by hiding my face and sobbing into my hands silently. I manage to get myself under control and lean back against the wall. I don't know how I'm supposed to do this. I lean back against the wall and stare at the opening. 

The next morning I feel like I'm in a fog. Everything seems like too much work. I keep giving myself orders to make sure I do something. I reorder Cato and my packs and refill our water bottles. I make myself fix the cave so it's harder to find if you don't know where it is. I take care of Cato's leg and go hunting. I build a fire in the middle of the woods and cook the meat I killed. The boy from One was my first kill. It is like hunting. It's the exact same movement but completely different afterwards. He has a family that's mourning him. Maybe a girlfriend. Probably friends. They lost him because of me. I'm being credited with taking District One out of the game this year. 

"Attention tributes, there will be a feast tomorrow." Claudius Templesmith says. We have enough food. I won't bother going. "Before you disregard this, each of you needs something desperately. It's being held at the cornucopia at dawn." His voice leaves. 

Medicine for Cato. I guess I'll have to go. A parachute floats down to me. Inside there's a loaf of bread. The rough grain filled stuff from district Eleven. I carefully break it in half and wrap half of it up in the wrapper it came in. I bite into the warm loaf and slide down the tree. The girl from Five is peeking around a tree. I sigh and break my half in half again and get some of the rabbit out. I wrap it in the parachute and toss it over to her. She sneaks out and grabs the package. She runs away and I carefully eat the warm loaf. 

I stand and force myself to walk back to the cave. I break into the rabbit and carefully nibble at it. I also eat half the groosling. It's going to be an empty day. I wriggle back into the cave and check in Cato. 

"You can't go to the feast." Cato croaks. 

"You need medicine." I answer. "And you can't walk. I'm not loosing you."

"Ash you can't go." He says. 

"I can't lose you!" My voice cracks. "I can't lose anyone else right now." 

"I can't lose you either." Cato says. There's a thunk and I walk outside. I open the bowl and find broth. I walk inside and smile. 

"Look what Haymitch and Terra sent." I say cheerfully.


	16. Chapter 16

I slowly feed Cato the broth, he's lost his appetite so I have to coax and kiss my way through the bowl. I also manage to coax the bread into him. He needs the medicine. I need to get the medicine. But first I need him to get knocked out for long enough to get it. I stand and walk out of the cave. 

"Come on Haymitch give me some help." I mutter. A parachute floats down and I open it eagerly. Inside is a vial and a Rose. No one knows he's my grandfather. I open the vial and sniff it. It smells like sleep syrup. I touch a little to my tongue and shudder. Mrs Everdeen has dosed me with enough when I wasn't sleeping after my parents died. This much would be enough to knock him out for a day. I spot some berries I know are safe to eat and carefully strip a bush. I use the pot and mash them up adding the syrup. I walk back into the cave and shake Cato awake. "Look what I found." I say. 

"They're really sweet." He mumbles while I feed him the berries. 

"Yes we use them to make jam back in Twelve." I say. 

"They're like syrup." Cato says. He's almost done with them so he's already eaten enough. His eyes fill with realization and I clamp my hand down so he can't spit them out. He's fading fast but his eyes look betrayed. I let go of my hand as he goes limp. He's still breathing and I smile. 

"See you later." I mutter. I strip him of his jacket and slip it on. He's not going to need it with his fever and in his sleeping bag. I slip it on and zip it up adding on Rues gloves over my hands. I pick up my bow and leave the cave readjusting so he's safe if I don't return. I hurry to the cornucopia and hide in the same spot where I blew up the food. The gamemakers must be making it so cold. I rub my hands together and bite my lip. It's going to be a long night. 

Dawn is slowly coming. Where is the feast? As the first rays of sunshine hit the cornucopia, the ground shakes and a table rises from a split in the ground. The girl from five runs out immediately and grabs her bag running away. I should've done that. I'm cursing her as I realize I have to be next. My bag is larger than I expected but then again Gale is still alive. I leave my hiding spot and start running. I hear a knife whizzing towards me and I raise my bow deflecting it. I pull back an arrow and quickly shoot it at Clove. She turns just in time to miss being fatally shot. It punctures her upper arm but unfortunately for me she throws with her left. I grab my bag and swing it over my quiver. I make it around the cornucopia just in time to have a knife fly across my forehead. Blood pours down into my eye and I can just make out Gales shape. I pull out my knife just in time for him to launch himself on it. 

He gasps for a few seconds and then falls limp on me. His canon goes off and I gasp. Gale is truly gone and I killed him. His blood is pouring over me and I squeeze my mouth shut as it coats my face. I can't move him. Suddenly he's lifted off of me and Clove is standing above me. I scramble away. 

"Is Cato okay?" She asks. I shake my head. 

"He's got a bad infection. He needs the medicine in the bag." I say. She nods. 

"Take care of him." She says grabbing her bag and running away. I stand and grab my bag again. I carefully take out the rose and set it on Gales chest. It also got a coating of his blood. I press my fingers against my mouth and hold them out. 

"Goodbye Gale. I'll take care of your family." I whisper. I take off again. I run back towards the stream and crash into it. It takes everything in me not to throw myself into the stream to get Gales blood off. But if I pause I might not make it back. I run to the cave and carefully apply the paste to Cato's wound before the blood loss over takes me and I black out. 

"Ash!" A voice wakes me up from my slumber. I blink. The world is kind of blurry. "Thank god! I woke up and you were in a pool of your blood." 

"Yeah Clove got me across the forehead." I mumble sitting up. I touch my forehead and find a bandage. I move quickly and check his leg. It's like he never got cut. "Oh my god!" 

"Yeah there was some left over so I put it on your cut." Cato admits. I raise my hands. They're still covered in blood. 

"I should get cleaned up." I mumble. 

"I saw the fallen last night." Cato pauses. "Gale is dead." 

"I know. I'm covered in his blood." I say quickly leaving the cave. It's pouring rain and I use the time to cry since I'm already covered in water. I let the rain wash away the blood and I take a deep breath. The blood is gone and I'm the only one from Twelve left. "Damn it. Damn you Gale." I yell. The thunder covers my voice and I throw a rock into the river. I walk back inside and Cato is waiting for me. He's standing by the entrance and gently helps me out of my wet clothes. He drapes them over a dry rock and helps me into the sleeping bag. 

"I'm sorry." He mumbles rubbing my hands. "It's hard loosing someone from your District." 

"He was more then someone from my District. He was Katniss and my third person. After we met him, he became our third best friend. It was always us three. It can't just be Katniss. Someone needs to take care of them." 

"But right now someone needs to take care of you." Cato says. I got quiet and let him brush the hair our of my eyes. "Let me take care of you." 

"I just want to go home." I say softly. My voice is like a child's. 

"You'll be back home soon." Cato promises. "Just stay here and sleep for a little." 

"Okay." I say softly. He kisses my forehead and I let myself fall asleep.


	17. Chapter 17

I wake up the next morning with Cato holding me in his arms. I cuddle up to him for a moment and then sit up. 

"Morning." Cato says softly. "How'd you sleep?" 

"Good." I answer. It's still raining. It's turned from a normal rain to a downpour giving us a brief break from the Games. I'm starving but Gale is still on my mind. He must've been sent back to Twelve by now. He's now in a wooden box forever. He never got to tell Katniss how he felt about her. He barely had a chance. I took the only bow. I carefully open the backpack which I only had rooted around for the medicine. I carefully take out a bow and soon a quiver follows. He was finally going to have a chance. I press my hand against my mouth to muffle my pain filled scream and the sob that follow. I didn't even fight for him. I didn't even give him a chance to fight for himself. 

"Hey it's okay." Cato wraps his arms around me and lets me sob into his shirt. My mind goes blank and I let him redress me. He coaxes me into eating some groosling and roots before tucking me back into bed. He lets me stay there while he eats and takes care of our wounds. He cleans off my arrows and carefully restocks my quiver. We aren't riveting today. I can almost hear Haymitch groaning. 

"Have I told you about Drift?" I ask. Cato shakes his head. "She likes to dance around and braid my hair. She'll spend hours doing and redoing my hair. I gave her my moms old locket for her fourth birthday and she now refuses to take it off. She always tries to give it to me before the reapings. She says I take care of them so I need mom and dads protection. She needs it more then I do. She was two when she died so she doesn't really remember them. I try and remind her of them as regularly as I can but it's hard." 

"I can't wait wait to meet her." Cato says softly kissing me. 

"I can't wait for you to meet her." I say. I'm starving again. "We should eat. Our food is getting old and there's not much left." 

Cato nods and watches me get out our food and split it in half. 

"I can go hunt tomorrow. Once the rain stops we'll have a whole forest to feed ourselves with." I say. He takes his half and we both wolf down the food until it's just a pile of bones. 

"Yeah. Plus maybe we'll get some sponsors." Cato says. I nod. 

"Yeah but for now we should sleep." I say. I make him put his jacket back on and he spreads the sleeping bag out. He carefully zips our second sleeping bag to the first and zips it until we can both slide in comfortably. He slides in and I join him. He pulls me close to him and kisses my head. "I'll take first watch." 

"Alright. Wake me up before too long." He says. He settles down and falls asleep holding me tightly. I cuddle up to him and keep my hand on my loaded bow. He's warm and his arms still feel safe. After a few hours I wake him up and he makes me go to sleep. I cuddle up to him and slowly fall asleep. 

The next morning it's still raining. It's been a nice break from the Games. No one coming after us. No one being able to find us. I'm ready for it to rain and to let the Games stop. I know everyone is watching us at this moment despite the fact that we're just huddled together for warmth. 

"So mind telling me about Katniss?" Cato asks. 

"No, Katniss is," I pause. It's hard to describe Katniss without bringing up her hunting. "She's everything I've ever wanted to be. She smart and brave and hardworking. She's spent years taking care of her family in anyway that she can and she still cares so so much. I'm sure if she were here she would be saying the same thing about me but she is the best version of herself already. She can be kind of standoffish and she does have a problem with letting people in but once you get to know her, she will always have your back. She's so very loyal to the people she considers her family. It's hard for her to care for people. She's had a hard life but she somehow manages to do it. I can barely let the people I used to know in anymore. Not that she ever had to deal with that. My walls grew around her." 

"You let me in." Cato says softly. It's only half true. He doesn't know about the way the darkness is always threatening to close in on me. It has been for years. He doesn't know that loosing one more person might be the last straw and I might not recover from that. He doesn't know that I'm partially fighting to keep him alive because I couldn't forgive myself if I didn't. He doesn't understand that I'm selfish at my core. Even my volunteering was selfish. While I did volunteer to protect Katniss, it was also to protect me. I can't lose her or Prim. It would break me. 

"Well that wasn't that hard." I answer softly. "It was like you were always there." 

"I love you." Cato murmurs. I'm about to respond when there's a clunk outside of the cave. I've got an arrow ready to fly before I know it. We haven't eaten all day and it's almost late afternoon. Cato runs out and whoops. He comes back in with a parachute full of food. It's plum pudding and rice with apples, goat cheese, and rolls. They've also given us utensils and plates to eat with. "Okay let's eat a little bit now and we can eat more later if we want." 

"Alright sounds good." I answer. I carefully spoon out some for both of us and hand him his plate. While I hand him his plate I kiss him quickly. "I love you too." I say softly enough that he can hear but it would be hard to overhear. I'm sure the Capitol is hanging onto my every word anyway. He takes it and smiles at me. 

"Well once this rain stops we should go hunting or something." Cato says. I nod and start eating. 

"Yeah hopefully it'll be done by tomorrow." I say. We both eat hurriedly and settle down. He starts telling me about his family and life in Two. He's so excited to show me around when we can finally visit it. 

About an hour has passed as Cato just talks about his home and I tell him about Drift and Terra. I eventually open up about mom and dad too. About how mom learned how to braid my hair from my dad so she could make sure it was taken care of and how she always used to kiss my cheek before I left for school. How my dad always helped me gather dandelions. I omit the part about him teaching me how to hunt. The anthem starts playing right as I'm rooting around for more food. 

"Looks like Clove got to Thresh." Cato says. I freeze for a second. I wanted him to win if we couldn't. 

"Guess we're that much closer to home." I say. Cato smiles and nods. 

"That much closer to home." He agrees.


	18. Chapter 18

The next morning the rain has stopped. Our break has ended. They'll want to be ending the games soon. I stand and carefully pack up our things. Cato follows suit and I slip my quiver over my shoulder so it hangs across my back. I slip my backpack over top of it and pick up my bow. I take out the rest of the stew and split in half. 

"We're hunting on a full stomach." I say handing him his food. We both eat quickly and stand.

"Alright, lets get going." Cato says. I nod and slip out of the cave. I wait for him and we start down the stream. It's still raging from the storm. As we walk it's hits me that we're finally back in the Games. We enter the woods and I almost instantly wish for Katniss and Gale. Cato is loud. He's breaking every stick and scaring all the game away. Of course when I think of Gale, a stab of guilt hits me. He'll never hunt again and that's my fault. 

"Tell you what." I say pausing. We've been walking for a few hours. "How about you gather roots and plants around here?" 

"You can say I'm too loud." Cato says. 

"I just think we'll get more done if we're split up." I lie. He is being too loud. I show him some roots and leave to hunt. I stay within a good distance of him. It's like I'm eleven again. Scared to go too far away from safety. But as I stray further from him the woods are alive again with game and I quickly pick off two grooslings. I'm starting back for Cato when a canon goes off. "CATO!" 

I reach where I left him and found a bunch of berries. I roll one between my fingers when Mr Everdeens voice enters my head. Never these. These will kill you immediately. Nightlock. I sprint down to the stream and run right into Cato. 

"Ash! What's wrong?" Cato cups my face. 

"Damn you Cato! That's nightlock! You'll be dead in a minute!" I shout. Suddenly the idea of loosing him enters my mind and terror shoots through me. "I can't lose you!" 

"You aren't going to." Cato slips his arms around me and kisses my head. "We'll get rid of the rest of the berries." 

"Wait." I grab a leather pouch I retrieved from the boy from One. "Maybe Clove likes berries." 

"What?" Cato asks. 

"I don't know about you but I'd rather poison Clove then fight her." I answer. A mockingjay gives a warning cry and they lift up the dead tribute. The glint of red hair confirms that it's foxface. She was too smart to eat the berries accidentally. Maybe she didn't want to be a part of their games anymore. Maybe she knew she couldn't beat Clove if it came down to it. 

"I didn't think about that." Cato admits. 

"I guess they'll want to end it." I say. He nods. "Let's head to the cornucopia then. They'll probably end up driving us there anyway." 

"Yeah sounds good." Cato says. I lead him to Rues fire and carefully light it. "Wait Clove would see that." 

"Then let her. I'm ready to end this." I say. I carefully prepare the grooslings for cooking and gently roast them over the fire on a spit. I carefully take them off when they're done and split the first one in half. I hand him his half and then wrap up the second one. With any luck we won't eat it. I set it in the plastic and wrap it up. I place it in my backpack and we start walking. 

We eat while we walk which leads to little conversation. Clove could be anywhere in the arena. Hope is filling me. One more person and we're home. We're free. After a little while Cato makes us stop at the stream to clean up and refill our bottles. After all we don't know when we'll get more water and we have a long walk ahead of us. We keep hiking in silence for a while. 

"So do you think Drift will like me?" Cato asks. His voice has definite hints of nervousness. It's adorable. 

"Drift is going to love you." I answer smiling. "She'll probably make you help her make flower crowns every day." 

"Well I am pretty good at flower crowns according to my younger sisters." Cato says smiling. 

"Well then sounds like you two will be a perfect fit." I answer. 

"Okay but what about Katniss and Mrs Everdeen? And Prim?" Cato says worriedly.

"Katniss will probably never fully like you." I answer. "As long as you're nice and respectful I'm sure Mrs Everdeen will like you and Prim is relatively easy to get to know. You're very likeable." 

Cato visibly relaxes and we soon reach the cornucopia. I start searching for a tree right by the front of the woods. If we're high up it'll be harder for Clove or any mutts to get us. 

"Why don't we just camp out in the open?" Cato suggests. "We can take turns on watch. I'm sure they'll give us until tomorrow. They'll want to see." 

"Alright." I agree. I've been rather mean to him all day so I might as well be nice. It will go better with the viewers and make it less weird when we both win. 

So we set up camp. Cato and I set up our normal sleeping bags and I sit up taking first watch. I lean against the cornucopia and watch the forest carefully. I spot something flying in the air and just for the fun of it shoot at it. It moves to the side very quickly and my arrows hits what must be a force field because it comes flying back and embeds itself in the ground a few feet away from me. Maybe I could use this. 

As the next morning dawns Clove comes bursting through the trees. I raise up my bow as she comes barreling towards us but she doesn't pause to do anything aside from start climbing. Mutts come bounding out of the forest. 

"Cato!" I shake him awake. "Climb!" 

He wakes up and starts the climb. I follow him and pause to take out one of the mutts. He reaches the top and pulls me up. Clove is bent over taking deep breaths. She mumbles something that I can't understand. 

"What?" I yell. 

"She asked if they can climb." Cato says. I watch them for a moment and shake my head. 

"No they can't." I answer. I take down a blonde furred blue eyed mutt and it hits me. It's Glimmer. "It's the tributes! It's the dead tributes!"


	19. Chapter 19

Cato sucks in a breath as he sees what I see. I pull back another arrow and take out a tribute mutt. I'm pulling back an arrow as Cato slams into me. Clove must've leapt onto him and knocked him into me. Cato scrambles to his feet and I quickly get my arrow ready. 

They're struggling to win. They're very well matched and it's not surprising seeing where they're from and how long they've trained. I can't shoot because they're a tangle of bodies right now. They slide toward the edge and fall into the mutts below. 

"Cato!" Bursts out of my mouth before I can help it. I release my arrow into the mutts and start quickly pulling and releasing arrows. Soon I'm running low on arrows and mutts to shoot at. There is a growing pile of bodies around them. Gale is the last mutt and I pull back an arrow. "I'm sorry Gale." I whisper. I release the arrow and buries itself in his skull. 

Cato and Clove are still fighting. I slide down the cornucopia and keep my bow trained on the fighting pair. Don't let the good ones slip away. That's what my dad always said. 

I'm eleven. My dad and I are alone in the woods. Katniss and her dad are running late because Prim is sick. Nothing to worry about but Mr Everdeen wanted to make sure Prim was okay. 

"Now Phoenix. My ashy bear." My dad brushes a piece of hair from my eyes. "Someday you're gonna end up with that mayors daughter. Or maybe you'll end up with someone else. But just remember. Don't let the good ones slip away." 

"I won't dad." I smile. "But it's not like that with Madge. I just think she's really pretty, smart, and nice." 

"Yeah that's what I said about your mom. Now look at us." My dad tugs on a braid. "And now I'm very happily married with three amazing daughters." 

"You have to say that. You're my dad." I answer. 

"Come on. Not only can you shoot, you know plants, plus you're the best healer we have in our covey." He says. 

"Yeah." I smile. Katniss and Mr Everdeen hurry over to us and Katniss tackles me into a hug. "Hi!" 

"Hi! Prim is okay. Mom gave her some medicine and she should be fine tomorrow." Katniss says. 

"Good. Where would be without our little duck." I smile. 

Don't lose the good ones. I already lost my parents, I lost Terra. I can't lose Cato. My arrow is trained on the dark hair of Clove but most of the time it's spinning around with Cato. I can't shoot if he's not out of the way. I can't risk loosing him. 

Cato rises up and Clove scrambles to her feet. Cato is blocking my shot and I have no way to shoot over him. All I know is that he's unprotected. She's got a knife but she's not trying to hurt him. She's trying to kill me. She just needs to get him out of the way. 

"Cato do you trust me?" I ask. Cato nods and I shoot into the sky. There's a flash of the sun and then the arrow comes shooting back down towards Clove. 

Clove notices the arrow and throws her knife. She must be hoping to take both of us out before it can hit her. The arrow buries itself in her skull and two canons go off. Cato sways for a second and then falls backwards towards me. I step to the side and catch him. 

"No!" I whisper but as I look down at the knife I know it's futile. He can't be saved. Not even by the fancy doctors in the Capitol. He's already gone. The light is gone from his eyes. "No!" The raw scream burst from my mouth as I grip onto his jacket. 

"The victor of the 74th annual Hunger Games. Ash Rooker District Twelve." They announce. I barely catch it. It means he's really gone. He left me. 

"You promised me we'd win!" I beg. "Wake up! Please god wake up! You can't leave me! I can't lose you. You're supposed to come back to twelve with me. We're supposed to get married. You can't leave me!" 

I know it must sound like the hysterical screaming of a teenage girl to everyone but he left me. He promised we'd get out of this together. I'm struggling to breath and I press my hands against the wound even though I know he's gone. I've seen the look in too many tributes. A ladder falls down to join me and I ignore it. I can't leave without him. If I do then he'll be gone forever. He'll really have left me. He'll have left me alone to deal with the Capitol. 

Another ladder descends and Haymitch steps off. He gently pulls my hands off Cato and helps me take off my quiver and backpack. He helps me up and pulls me into a hug. 

"It's okay sweetheart." He says softly. He leads me to the ladder and helps me on. It freezes us and we're lifted up. But we're leaving Cato. He's still on the ground. They must be picking him up after us. 

We're taken into a hovercraft and I'm led away. Away from Cato and Haymitch. Away to be made beautiful. Maybe they'll fix my ear. It's still dead. Someone hands me a glass of orange juice and I stare at it. It's too pretty to be in my hands. I just now realize that they're dirty and covered in blood. I set it down, I don't want to hurt it. After all I've become a killer already. I just want to be home. There's nothing left for me here. Nothing left for me to say or do. No one left to talk to. I just want to be home so I can finally be free from how haunted the Capitol has become for me. Some must've snuck up behind me because I feel a pinch and the world slowly goes black.


	20. Chapter 20

I wake up to find myself in a large white room. I try to get up and find a band strapping next down. I'm naked and as I touch my head for the scar I got from Clove I can feel it fading. I move my hand and hear my pillow crinkle. I freeze. I can hear again. Now it won't feel so disjointed. I guess whatever they're giving me is making me groggy because the world slowly turns black again. 

The next time I wake up the band is gone and I'm free to move. An Avox comes in and sets a trey of food over me. She slips a spoon into my hand and I gasp. I recognize her. I didn't help her. 

"I'm sorry." I whisper. She nods and gestures to my food. I'm not hungry. It feels like a giant weight is pressing down on me. I force down the food and she leaves. I force myself to stand and find my tribute outfit. I recoil. It's repulsive. At the very least it's clean and seems new. I force myself to dress in it and step outside. 

"Hey sweetheart." Haymitch says. I nod at him. Smiling seems too hard. 

"Hey Haymitch." I say. Cinna carefully wraps me in a hug. "Hey uncle Cinna." I mumble. 

"Hey. Come on. We've been sent to take you back to our apartment." Cinna says. I nod and let them lead me back to the apartment. I should at least try and put on a happy face for the others. Once I'm back in twelve I can try and deal with this on my own. So for now I need to push the darkness away. Once my family is set up in my new house, I can disappear into the woods and mourn there. 

As we fly up the elevator my mind flashes to the 23 people who will never smell the woods or feel the sun on their skin again. They're gone. They're dead. As we pass the second floor I turn away from the doors and stare downwards. He's gone. We reach our floor and I'm taken to a room. My prep team waits for me. 

They congratulate me and spend most of the time talking about the games excitedly. They're talking about where they were when certain things happened. I'm grateful for the break they give me and stay quiet as they beautify me. They gossip about where they were when certain stuff happened. It disgusts me. They're kids. They were kids. Now they're nothing. They're dead. I personally had a hand in at least five deaths. One from my own district and the other four careers. Gale is never going to smile again. He's never going to see Katniss again. He's already back in twelve. In a way I envy him. He doesn't have to deal with all the crushing guilt I feel. With the pain of the losses I've been dealt. If I had taken his place I could be free. 

But I promised Drift and I managed to keep my promise. Right now she's my only source of comfort. Her and Katniss. But then my mind flashes to Madge. My spirit lifts for a second but then the guilt crushes down on me. I just lost Cato. I can't help but notice that my prep team is carefully avoiding talking about him. At least they have a little tact. They mention my full body polish and it finally hits me that I've lost all my scars. All of them. Even my hunting scars. 

Cinna comes in and sends the prep team away. He smiles at me and carefully opens the dress bag he has. It's softer then my interview dress. He slips it on and my hands go to my breasts. They been padded. So have my hips. I frown. I know I've lost quite a bit of weight but this seems unfair. 

"It was a compromise. Snow wanted you to have surgery but Haymitch fought for you." Cinna says. 

"Yeah. So I can have time to gain it back." I mumble. Cinna nods and gently braids my hair. He twists it up. I have to watch the recap of the Games. I twist to try and distract myself. By comparison my interview dress is garish and my tribute parade outfit was over the top. It's perfect. Like flickering candlelight. "It's perfect. Thank you." 

"Listen to me, once the interviews are over you get to go home and live in peace. You can mourn and hopefully someday move on." Cinna says. "Maybe someday I can come visit and you can introduce me to Katniss." 

"Well you'll be back for the victory tour right?" I ask. He nods. "I'll make a point to introduce you to everyone." 

"Well you're ready." Cinna carefully adjusts my makeup. "Don't let them see you as weak. They'll want you to show some emotion and you'll have to because you just lost your fiancé but don't let them see you fully mourn. I know it's crushing down on you right now but you just need to hold on for a few more days." 

"Okay. Just until I'm done with the celebrations." I agree. Then Drift will have Mrs Everdeen to help her while I try and fix myself. "He's angry isn't he?" 

"Snow? Yes. He didn't like the stunt you pulled with the forcefield. You outsmarted him. He wanted Clove to win. He was hoping it would be the tragic end to the starcrossed lovers." Cinna says. 

"He clearly doesn't know me." I answer. 

"He's hoping this will have broken you." Cinna says. "Don't let him be right." 

"I won't. He doesn't get to be right." I answer. Cinna smiles and nods. 

"Good." He says. He leads me down to the basement of the training center. From there I'll be lifted up on a pedestal. Much like the one that lifted me in the arena. 

Haymitch comes up to me and hugs me. "Good job sweetheart. President Snow doesn't like what you did so make sure you play up the whole romance. You did it to save Cato." 

"I did it to save Cato." I mumble into his shoulder. 

"Well good luck sweetheart." He says. My prep team goes first. Then Effie. Then Cinna. Finally Haymitch. I'm lifted up and greeted by Caesar. 

"Welcome Ash! It's so nice to see you again!" Caesar says. 

"Hi Caesar!" I say cheerfully. I'm forcing myself to smile. They're expecting a happy victor. A proud victor. 

"I first want to say I'm so sorry." He says. My smile slips slightly. "We were all rooting for you two." 

"I just hope he's happy and he's waiting for me." I answer. 

"Well just make sure to take your time." Caesar says patting my hand. He leads me to the chair, the victors chair. I take a seat and he directs everyone to watch the screen and it starts playing. They play the reapings, tribute parade, and interviews in full. When they get to the games they normally follow a certain storyline. This year it's a tragic love story. They show all the killing. They show the entire time I sing to Rue. They skip me covering her in flowers. They show all of our kisses and all of our promises. They show me knocking him out and going to the feast. They show Gales death and Clove sparing me. I save Cato. Clove kills Thresh. Foxface eats the berries. Then it's the finale. Cato and Clove fight. I kill Clove and Clove kills Cato. Then they show me screaming. Begging him to stay alive. But he's already gone. They show me trying to stop the bleeding. They show Haymitch making me leave the arena. Then it ends. 

"Please welcome President Snow!" Caesar says. President Snow walks up followed by a small girl. President Snow carefully sets the crown on my head. 

"Congratulations miss Rooker." President Snow says. 

"Thank you." I say. "Grandfather." I add. His eyes narrow and I can't help the smirk that passes my face.


	21. Chapter 21

After I'm done being crowned I'm sent back to the twelfth floor. I'm allowed back into my room and I sit on the bed for a second. Both bedrooms I've seen are haunted. I can't stay in this room. I strip out of my dress and redress in a pair of pants and a shirt. I purposefully picked an outfit that reminds me of home but doesn't look like my arena outfit. 

I walk out to join the others and carefully take my seat. They've removed Gales old seat. I guess it makes sense. He's not here to eat. I carefully take some of the food laid out so my team doesn't worry. They're chattering on about my win. Haymitch isn't talking instead he's making some sort of alcoholic drink which he slips to me. I sip it gratefully. It burns my throat but it numbs the rest of me. 

"Ash?" Effie says. "I've heard from the other victors that their old rooms can feel a bit haunted so if you'd like I can move you to our empty mentor room." 

"That would be great. Thank you Effie." I say. She smiles slightly and goes back to chatting with Octavia. I gulp down the drink and my mind starts going fuzzy. For once I don't want to avoid that because it makes some of the pain go away, even if it's just temporarily. Haymitch makes me another and makes himself one. I can tell Cinna is watching me carefully. He's probably hoping to avoid another drunk victor. 

I drink the other one more slowly. I'm rather hoping to avoid another drunk victor but for now I just want to make myself numb. Back home I won't be able to get away with drinking myself numb so for now I'm letting myself get away with it. Mrs Everdeen probably won't but Katniss will be actively trying to keep me from turning into Haymitch. 

"So tomorrow you have your final interview and then you can go home." Cinna says. 

"Okay." I say. Soon I'll be home. Haymitch gives me another drink and I quickly drink it. I'm numb now. I force down some food and then stand. "I'm going to bed. Mind showing me where it is?" 

"I'll show you sweetheart." Haymitch stands and leads me to my room. I stumble inside and collapse onto the bed. I manage to strip out of my clothes and curl up under the sheets. They'll just make me get naked anyway. 

The next morning I'm woken up by my prep team. They pass me some sort of weird drink and I drink it. It helps my bad headache that must've come with my first time drinking. They start on my makeup and I'm feeling much better by the time Cinna comes in. He holds up a short soft dress that would look perfect on a young teenager. He helps me into it and I bite my lip as I feel the padding again. It's adding some of the curves that have been stolen from me by the hunger the Games inflicted. 

"So Caesar is in the sitting room. It's just a little bit and then you'll get on a train for twelve." Cinna says. He gently slips a ring on my finger and my throat tightens. It's Catos ring. "I wanted to put on your pin but Haymitch figures it would be a slap in the face." 

He gently unbraids my tiny braids and brushes them out. He twists a few pieces back so my face is nicely framed but not taken away from. He helps me into a pair of sandals and leads me to the sitting room. It's just me and Caesar. 

"Hey Ash. How are you doing?" Caesar says. For a moment he seems nice and human. 

"I'm alright." I answer. I glance down and catch a glimpse of my ring. I look away before I can breakdown. "Just trying to cope." 

"Of course. I can't imagine loosing someone that close to you." Caesar says. I nod and I'm led to a couch. I carefully sit in the middle and hide my ring under me. They count down and the cameras start rolling. "So Ash, we got to see a great romance during the Games. We would love to hear how it started." 

"He came with his sister on her victory tour." I start. It was true. Somehow he had managed to weasel his way onto the victory tour and I guess I had met him then. Except I didn't talk to him. But I now remember his eyes. The way he followed me through the crowd until I disappeared. "I don't know, he came up to me and we just started talking. He helped me come to terms with loosing Terra." 

"Yes let's talk about your family. Do you think they're proud?" He asks. 

"Yes. I think that they would be. I think that they were watching over me during the Games." I answer. My dad would've been proud. But not for winning but for fighting. 

"Do you think Katniss is proud?" Caesar asks. Despite myself I smile. 

"I think she's happy I'm alive." I answer. "I'm sure she is proud." 

The rest of the interview passes quickly. For the second half when we delve into Cato and his death I keep my eyes on Haymitch. Soon enough I'm being sent back to the train and being whisked away back home. I wait by the window staring out. No one is filming me right now so I can be quiet and breakdown a little. I retreat to my room so I can hide under my blankets. I must've been here for a few hours because Effie is knocking at the door. 

"Ash? It's dinner time." She says. I stand and join them in the dining room. 

"We should be in twelve by noon tomorrow." Haymitch says. "You'll be home." 

"Home." I mumble. I miss home. It's finally time to go home. I don't touch the alcohol tonight for the sake of being okay when I get home. I retire to my bedroom early and change into my pyjamas. I slip into bed and stare up at my ceiling. I'm so close to being back to my family. 

I fall asleep around midnight and wake up to Effie knocking on my door. I must be almost home. I get up and find my moms old dress. Cinna must've saved it for me. I slip into it and glance in the mirror. I get to see Drift. I get to see Katniss. Madge. Madge is going to be waiting for me. I'm going to have to explain what the romance was. Especially since right before the Games Madge had nearly kissed me. I know I like Madge but I think I did love Cato. I walk out to join the others for breakfast. It's my last time eating the Capitol food for a while. I carefully stuff my face but since the Games I haven't been able to eat very much. 

Soon after breakfast we pull into Twelve and I can barely stop myself from running to the window. I can't wait to see Katniss, Prim, and Drift. Haymitch leads me to the door. It opens and I step out to wave at the crowd. Drift is squirming against Mrs Everdeens arms and I can't help it but run down to hug her. Drift squirms her way into my arms and I pick her up despite her size. 

"Your hair is so puffy." Drift giggles. 

"Yeah it's not in its braids." I answer. I set her down and nearly fall over as Katniss tackles me. 

"You're home." Katniss mumbles. 

"I'm sorry about Gale." I mumble. She shakes her head. 

"As long as one of you came home." Katniss says. 

I let go of her and hug Prim. "Hey little duck." I say. Prim smiles. 

"Im glad you're home Phoenix." Prim smiles at me. 

"Let's go home." I say smiling. "We need to get everyone moved in." 

"Yeah we've got a new home." Drift says. 

"Yeah all five of us." I answer. Katniss opens her mouth to protest. "No, you're family and you guys are living with us." 

Mrs Everdeen hugs me. "Besides Ash needs someone to look after her for once." She says. 

We start for the victors village and towards our new home.


End file.
